


Parsel

by PadfootIsMyHomeDawg



Series: Parsel [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adorable Harry, Animagus, Animagus Harry Potter, Animagus!Harry, Hogwarts Second Year, Hufflepuff Harry, Hufflepuff Harry Potter, Learning to be Human, Parseltongue, animagi, getting used to human life, parselmouth, raised by snakes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-28
Updated: 2016-07-02
Packaged: 2018-05-24 07:44:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 33
Words: 163,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6146470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PadfootIsMyHomeDawg/pseuds/PadfootIsMyHomeDawg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To escape the cold night on November 1, 1981, little Harry Potter's accidental magic kicks in, and he manages to turn himself into a snake and slither away before his aunt can find him in the morning. Raised by snakes, he forgets that he is actually a boy...and then one day he accidentally wanders into a place known by humans as the "Forbidden Forest".</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Disappearance

**Author's Note:**

> I'm probably jinxing myself in finally posting this fic, but over the past month or so I was hit by my muse and words kept coming out - enough that I have finished several chapters of this fic already and I am fairly confident enough in my more detailed plans that I won't grow bored of this one and it fizzles out. I suppose we'll see. :) I'll get back to my other wip fics some time, but for now this is the one I know exactly where it's going.  
> I'm fairly positive that this idea has never been used before, at least in this way. But, I came up with the idea because I was thinking in the wee hours of the morning how irresponsible it was to leave Harry out in the cold all night like a box from UPS where you didn't hear the knock on the door. Yes, there are warming charms, but those wear off after a while. I couldn't remember exactly how long, so I just went with about four hours. But it's crazy to leave a child on the doorstep outside in the middle of the night, let alone for several hours. In my books, that's child abuse, and it really pisses me off!  
> Sorry for my mini rant there. I just really hate Dumbledore. :(  
> Anyway, I know there's been that thought before, so I thought - how could he get away on his own without anyone noticing. So I decided he would turn into a snake, because they seek out warmth, and I feel like they have to have some sort of instinct to be able to find it quickly. And because Harry has just gained his Parseltongue abilities through Voldemort, I figure his magic will think of turning into a snake before any other animal that may or may not be a better choice for getting warm. At least that's what I tell myself.  
> I try and stick as close as I can to snake behavior, but I have taken a few liberties myself and modified it a bit. My excuse is that he's not really a snake, so he won't have all of the instincts that his species does. And any others of his species are affected too, because he's magical. Just accept it, even if it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. ;)  
> Also, there will be NO SLASH, so if you're expecting to see that, I suggest you go find another story. Sorry.  
> However, it will talk about sex between snakes, though I feel that it's mostly scientific - not at all pornographic. BUT - Harry, although he thinks he's a snake, is NOT going to have sex with a snake. He's too young in human form to think about that stuff, so that will translate to not being sexually mature in snake form either. Plus, that would be like bestiality and that's gross. *cringe* Not my cup of tea. (If I actually drank tea.)  
> Anyway, I think that's all the need-to-know for now, but I'll let you know at the beginning of the chapter if I've forgotten something. Hope you enjoy!

Britain is fairly well known as having a moderate climate. Mostly cool, warmer in the summer, and always cooling off at night. This is especially true in the approaching winter season. It can get close to freezing temperatures at night.

The first of November in the year of 1981 was just such a cold night. People were warm inside their houses, under blankets and with their heaters turned up high. Especially as it was almost four-thirty in the morning - it was inconceivable for anyone to be outside for any reason.

Little Harry Potter woke up shivering, however. It was no surprise that the one-year-old was cold - after all, he was wrapped in just a single blanket, lying on the front doorstep of the house on Number Four, Privet Drive. The warming charm that had been placed on him by the people who left him there had worn off after four hours, and now the child was practically freezing.

As the wide green eyes darted around the unfamiliar surroundings, he gave a little whimper - in equal parts fear and cold. He didn't know where his mama or daddy were, but he was getting hungry now and the cold wasn't helping.

He didn't bother crying out - somehow his subconscious knew that there was no point. So, the magic within him welled up as it fought to protect him from the cold and fear on its own.

It didn't happen in a bang or a flash or even a small crack. Rather, one moment a little boy with a curious scar on his forehead was lying tightly wrapped inside the blanket, and in the next, a small grey-green snake with black markings was slithering quickly away in an instinct to find warmth.

...

By noon on November 2nd of 1981, Albus Dumbledore knew that something was wrong. The blood wards he had placed on little Harry Potter had yet to activate, and he knew that Vernon Dursley left for work in the morning and Petunia liked to get a start on her day early as well. One of them should have found Harry, and Petunia should have decided by now to take the boy in. It had been hours after all, but Dumbledore had been hoping that perhaps it was a delayed sort of reaction. But five hours was quite long enough.

He quickly made his way to Privet Drive, having just enough forethought to transfigure his robes into an old fashioned but not terribly noticeable Muggle suit.

Walking up the path to Number Four, he paid no heed to the Muggle across the street peering suspiciously at him out her window. He walked right up to the door and rang the doorbell, all the while wondering about little Harry.

A horse-faced woman Dumbledore recognized as Petunia Evans Dursley answered the door with a tight smile. The fake smile disappeared into a scowl as soon as she recognized him for who he was.

"What do you want?" She said sharply. "I got your letter, but I absolutely _refuse_ to take that boy in - who knows what he may do to my little Dudders!"

Dumbledore was somewhat startled at her abrupt, brash manner, but still maintained his sense of polite calm when he spoke.

"Mrs. Dursley, I wonder if I might take a moment of your time," he said. "May I come inside?"

Petunia scowled, but she saw how the neighbor across the street (Margaret Ullman - what a _horrible_ woman) was staring curiously at them through her open window. So, she gritted her teeth and opened the door wider, allowing Dumbledore to step inside before she immediately closed the door behind him.

"I suppose one of your _people_ will come to bring the boy later," she spat. "Well, bringing me his blanket does you _no_ favors and doesn't garner him any sympathy from _me_. Lily and I haven't even spoken since her wedding, so you can just tell whatever freak of yours plans to come by that they can go _right_ back where they came from, because he's not going to be living under _this_ roof!"

Dumbledore had taken in all of her words with an acute feeling of dread. The normal twinkle in his eyes had dwindled somewhere in the middle of her speech, and now it was gone completely. "You mean to tell me that he's not here?" He demanded. "You've not even seen him?"

Petunia glared. "Of course not," she said. "All I found this morning was his blanket and the letter that you left me." She turned away to leave the room as her own son's crying came down from upstairs, sounding like he was being tortured for all his shrieking went on. He had obviously awakened from his nap. "I don't need the blanket, obviously. It has his name embroidered on it, and we have _quite_ enough blankets as it is." As though it was infested with disease, she lifted the soft blue baby blanket from where it had obviously been dumped carelessly on the floor by the chair. She tossed it in Dumbledore's direction.

"See that I don't hear anything about that wretched boy _ever_ again," she spat disgustedly. "We don't need your kind infesting our home and our very lives."

Dumbledore however, was now even more disgusted than Petunia. He remembered what Minerva had said just a little over twelve hours before - that these were the worst sort of Muggles imaginable. He couldn't help but agree, now that he saw this proof in front of him.

"Oh, don't worry," he called after her with suppressed anger, walking to the entrance of the living room as Petunia walked up the stairs to attend to her bawling son. She paused to listen to him, still shooting glares his way.

"I will," he said. "Now that I see what you are like, I am grateful that he is away from you, so he can grow up to be... _normal_. I would never want him to be as odd as _your_ family." He said this last part with a slight smirk, knowing how Petunia had strived to appear "normal" after Lily had gone to Hogwarts, and knowing just how much those words would grate on her.

Then, without so much as a by-your-leave, he Disapparated before she could get a single angry word out in her defense.

...

The first person Dumbledore contacted was Minerva, who was still upset about the boy being left at the Dursleys and was giving him the cold shoulder. It made sense that perhaps she would find a way to get little Harry away from that house, seeing as how she was the one who had been so opposed to it when he'd told her the plan the night before.

When she found out the reason for his visit however, she exploded on him, citing that he should not have ever left the Potter boy with those Muggles to begin with, and that his disappearance was largely his fault. If he had not been left on that doorstep, he would not have disappeared without a trace (as Dumbledore had checked for signs at the Dursley household and there were none). Even knocking on the door and explaining it to the "horrible Muggles" might have been better - at least then they would know _exactly_ where he was.

Dumbledore idly wondered during her ranting if perhaps mistakes could be made in the identity of a person's Animagus form. She much more strongly resembled that of Gryffindor's house symbol of a lion protecting its cubs than that of the house cat she actually was. That would be good looking into.

After several threats to Dumbledore's continued well-being if the child was not found soon, he finally departed from the Deputy Headmistress' company to find the other person who had helped in the placement of Harry on Privet Drive.

Hagrid practically bawled a lake when he found out that "sweet li'l baby Harry" was missing. As it was, a large puddle formed on the wooden floor of the hut. Clearly Hagrid had nothing to do with the boy's disappearance.

After that, Dumbledore tried contacting Sirius Black - he _was_ the child's godfather after all, and it would make sense for him to go after Harry, whether to hurt him if he was in fact Voldemort's spy, or to take custody of him if he truly did care for him. He _had_ lent Hagrid his motorbike - it was possible that Hagrid had told him where he was taking his godson, as he wasn't exactly well-known for keeping secrets.

But, Sirius currently couldn't be found, so he told Auror Moody to let him know if and when he was found, as he needed to speak with him - about what, he wouldn't say.

The next person he contacted was Remus Lupin, also because he was James' best friend and he might have taken Harry to care for him. Lupin had been shocked to hear that Harry was missing, and then angry that Dumbledore had somehow lost his best friend's son, and so soon after the child's parents' deaths. After much shouting, he had crumpled to the ground and began sobbing, not knowing what to think about the Potters, Harry, and Sirius' possible betrayal. It all seemed to hit him at once - the deaths, Sirius, the fact that he hadn't seen Peter or Sirius since the deaths when they should have banded together in their grief...finally Dumbledore gave him a cup of tea laced with a sleeping draught and a calming draught. In his distraught state, the werewolf didn't even notice the out-of-place smells and drank it all down in a gulp. Dumbledore had gently guided him to his bed before he passed out. Clearly the man knew nothing.

Lastly the old wizard tried contacting Peter Pettigrew. It was less likely of the quiet wizard to have taken Harry - he always was more of a follower - but grief could do things to people, give them courage and strength where they previously appeared to be lacking. The chubby wizard might have taken the boy out of a sense of duty to his late best friend.

It was as he was searching for Pettigrew that he received news from Moody that the man was dead, and that Sirius Black had killed him and twelve other Muggles in a street full of witnesses. The news that Black had _laughed_ as he was carted away by Aurors disturbed the old man greatly, but perhaps he still knew something about where Harry was.

Minutes later, he was walking down the row of holding cells deep within the Ministry. He almost hoped Black had something to do with Harry's disappearance - otherwise he would have no leads. Especially now that Pettigrew was dead.

As he spoke with Black however, he found that while he didn't know anything about Harry's disappearance and was in fact devastated by it, that Black was not actually the Secret Keeper, and was therefore not a servant of the Dark Lord and not the Potters' betrayer. Discovering that Pettigrew was still alive and that he, Sirius, and James were Animagi had shocked Dumbledore as well. For Sirius however, already filled with grief over his best friends' deaths, receiving the news of the disappearance of their son seemed to have put him on the edge of madness, ready to tip him over with the push of a feather. After giving the Marauder a strong calming draught, Dumbledore had gone off to make plans - plans to catch Pettigrew, plans to get Sirius freed, plans to save his spy, and plans to figure out what in the world had happened to little Harry Potter.


	2. Change

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! It was pointed out to me that Dumbledore was OOC in the last chapter. I have to agree, but I'm not going to change it. As much as I dislike Dumbledore, I still wanted him to get one over on Petunia. Blame his OOC-ness on the stress of Voldemort's end and the trials and then finding out Harry is missing was his breaking point. *shrug*  
> Also, Harry's turning into a snake and how it was possible will be explained in a later chapter - I promise it's not just a random decision I didn't know how to justify. ;)  
> No warnings apply for this chapter, so enjoy!

Harry Potter never knew of the trouble he had caused in Wizarding Britain over the next several years. He never knew that Britain had gone into an uproar over the "Boy-Who-Lived's" disappearance when they found out a few weeks after Halloween by way of a sensational news article in the Daily Prophet. He never knew of the grief he had caused the friends of his parents - especially his godfather and honorary uncle - because no one knew what had happened to him. He didn't know how witches and wizards all over the country - and even in the rest of the continent - looked for him for three years before putting his case among the rest of the cold cases in their Auror departments. He didn't know how his godfather had to look at every single black-haired child his size to make sure that it wasn't him, or how he seemed to crumble even more with each confirmation that it wasn't in fact his godson. He didn't know how Sirius had attacked Peter at his trial as he was led out - not only for his best friends' deaths, but in the vain hopes that he might know where Harry was.

He knew nothing about any of this, because he had found his own family already among several snakes, and forgot all about being human at one point.

When he had first joined the family of snakes, he had been welcomed, as he was just a small child and even though snakes usually left their young, they helped those who needed it. And the snake had been so confused and lost when he showed up that it was clear that he needed it.

However, after the first several months, it had become clear to the rest of the snakes that he wasn't exactly…normal. After the first few months, they should have seen progress in his mental capabilities – progress that he was becoming an adult. But, he remained with the mind capabilities of a two-year-old human child – not that that's what they compared him to, but the fact was that the little snake was progressing physically and mentally at the rate of his human self rather than a snake.

But, because the snakes didn't know this, they all began to look down on him for being mentally slow – obviously a runt. The only one who really continued to love and help him was the snake he had first come upon – an older olive brown female that he looked upon as a mother. Her name was Sueva, and she had taken to calling him Silas, as he'd been found wandering in the forest.

Now, although Silas was young, he could tell when people started looking down on him – metaphorically, that is. He could feel as time went on that the other snakes were beginning to look at him with disdain, and it didn't take him long to figure out that they thought he wasn't smart enough.

And so, all by himself, he decided to do something about that.

By the time he was five years old, by human standards, he had the mental capabilities and intelligence of a boy more than twice his age. This wasn't too amazing by snake standards, however – he was about average, as snakes lived shorter than humans did, so they matured much faster. He was just on the same level as the other snakes, and they began to accept him once more, deciding that his mental lacking in his early years was a fluke now. He still continued to learn, though – because what else was there for him to do?

He lived out the next several years in peaceful content, communicating with the other snakes in nearby holes and catching his own food. The forest could be dangerous at times, but he learned how to deal with it and get through it. He was also the most venomous snake of the lot of them, he came to realize – besides Sueva, as they were both the same type of snakes.

It was when he was eight human years old that he first realized that he was much different from the rest of the snakes.

He had been exploring on his own in the early evening, looking for easy food and slithering through the soft soil when he suddenly sensed a delicious smell close by. He flicked out his tongue again - and there it was again. He didn't know what it was, but it smelled better to him than anything he'd ever eaten.

He followed the scent, flicking out his forked tongue occasionally to keep track of it, and finally found what he'd been looking for.

About forty meters in front of him, down a small hill, was a fire, surrounded by rocks to keep it from spreading. A couple of feet from the fire all around were four logs, and sitting on the logs were six humans, all talking and laughing.

Silas knew what humans were. The snakes had talked about them sometimes, and something Sueva had always stressed to him was that humans were unpredictable, meant to be stayed away from. Some of them would kill you just for fun, or even just hurt you to put you through the misery. Some had heavy contraptions with wheels that could roll over you, and they wouldn't even care. Worse still, some of them would take you and put you in glass cages just to look at, or to periodically extract venom from. Some would even kill you for your skin, or your fangs or eyes. Silas didn't know how true all of that was, though. Of course he trusted Sueva, but he never knew if she was speaking from personal experience or just from what she'd heard from other snakes. Why would someone want his venom - or his skin or eyes or fangs? Maybe the humans wanted to kill someone they didn't like. Silas knew that he could kill a human with his venom.

Then Sueva had said that the _only_ humans that could be trusted were ones other humans referred to as "Parselmouths". Parselmouths could speak to snakes as though they were also a snake, rather than the nonsense humans called "English" - or the other hundreds of languages that they had. Silas often wondered why humans spoke in so many different languages around the world - snakes only spoke one language, after all.

But these humans gathered around the campfire didn't seem all that dangerous to him. And he really did want their food - he could see that it was some sort of reddish meat formed into a small log on each of their sticks, held over their fire - for what reason, Silas didn't know.

He watched the humans for a few minutes, flicking out his tongue occasionally in hunger. There were four males and two females, and they all had some sort of cloth covering their bodies, as though they couldn't get warm enough on their own. They even had cloth covering their heads and their hands.

Silas cocked his head to the side in a rather human-like fashion, wondering at that. Yes, the humans did seem to be cold - he could tell by the way the females leaned sometimes into the males, like they were trying to absorb the other's body heat. Perhaps they were mating? But why weren't the males fighting, then? Silas supposed he could be wrong, and the humans were used to each other, perhaps having lived together for a long time, like he had in his den.

He moved unconsciously closer to the humans, flicking out his tongue again and desperately wanting just a taste of that food they had on their sticks.

A moment later he was suddenly shivering, the cold freezing him straight through. He was enormously confused until he suddenly realized that everything seemed...smaller. He moved slightly, and then he suddenly realized...

He was a human!

Silas hissed in shock, not forming a particular word but rather a startled exclamation as he gazed at his pale, dirty, _human_ hands.

He moved again - and found he had _legs_ , too! He felt all over himself with his hands, amazed at his heightened sense of touch. His eyesight wasn't as good as before and neither was his hearing or smell, but he could suddenly taste the bird he'd eaten the day before and feel the leaves he was currently sitting on.

A wind blew threw the air, and Silas suddenly realized why those humans were wearing those clothes - apparently it was much harder for a human to retain its body heat than it was for snakes, and he found himself shivering with cold.

He gazed longingly down at the fire and the food, wishing he could go down there to eat and be warm, when he blinked (which was a whole new concept in itself) and realized - he _could_. After all, he was a human now. Surely the humans sitting around the fire wouldn't kill one of their kind.

Still, considering the type of snake he was, he really couldn't be sure, so best approach with caution.

He watched as one of the males rose to his feet, saying something before walking to a rectangular cube behind them, opening the top and pulling out a few cans. He tossed a couple to the people sitting around the fire before grabbing one for himself and closing the top of the cube. Walking back to his place, he seemed to have opened the can, for it made a cracking and then slight hissing sound. Silas watched in fascination as the male brought the can to his mouth and tipped it back before swallowing, causing Silas to wonder if there was some sort of food inside. The people around the fire were doing the same thing to their cans, though at a slower pace than the other male.

But Silas wasn't focused on the cans - he was mentally reviewing the way the male had stood to walk. Silas supposed that that must be the way all humans moved - that meant he would have to approach in the same way.

He shakily rose to his feet, stumbling a couple of times but finally making it to a standing position. He waited a beat, proud of himself for accomplishing what had seemed hard minutes before so quickly, and then confidently moved his feet in the way he'd seen the other male do it.

Immediately he knew he'd done it wrong when he found himself tipping forward, head coming rapidly closer to the ground...

And then he was rolling. He hardly had any time to cry out before he went tumbling down the hill, closer and closer to the humans with each second.

He was stopped suddenly when he hit something hard and he felt pain go through his entire left side, and he let out an involuntary moan. He vaguely heard the humans cry out in shock, and realized that he'd hit one of their logs that they'd been sitting on. He sighed to himself when he realized that he hadn't made a very normal-looking entrance - surely the possibility of them sharing their food and warmth was out of the question now.

He suddenly became aware that all six humans were gazing at him now, in varying degrees of shock and horror. The females had moved so that they stood right next to him, and a couple of the males were sitting on the log he'd crashed into, turned away from the fire so that they could look at him.

"My God, are you alright?" One of the females gasped as he sat upright. She had pretty red-brown hair that seemed to glow in the firelight.

"Where are your clothes?" The other one asked. "You must be freezing!" Her eyes were gazing right into his, a pretty blue color that he'd never seen on a snake.

He remained silent, however, partly because he didn't know how to answer. He didn't want to tell her that he was actually not a human but a snake - she might kill him for his fangs, after all. And he was sure that six against one would beat him - especially as they were still bigger than him, even though they were all humans now. Plus, while he could understand some of what she was saying, his understanding of it was mostly choppy - and he wasn't sure how to speak the human language back to them.

"Well, let's get you over by the fire," the female with red hair said when it was clear he wasn't going to speak. She reached out a hand, but Silas wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with it, so he simply copied her and held out his own hand. She reached forward to close the gap, grasping his hand in one of hers, and with the other, taking hold below his elbow, and then pulling.

This move came unexpected to Silas though, and he stumbled to his feet before losing his balance entirely and falling forward into her arms.

"Whoa, easy there," she said, setting him back upright. "You alright, kid?"

"Here, put this on." One of the males was suddenly holding out some piece of his clothing - it appeared it was just an outer layer, as he had more clothes on underneath. The piece he held was opened down the middle and had spots that seemed to be meant to go around his arms.

Silas didn't know exactly how to put it on, but he held out his arms - the red headed female kept her hand on one of his arms as though to make sure he didn't fall again - and the male gave him the piece.

He knew what was top and what was bottom, but as far as front and back, he was lost. He studied it for a moment, before putting his arms in their spots - a struggle in itself - with the opened part at the back. It seemed logical - his front half seemed more sensitive to the cold outside than his back - but the female with blue eyes chuckled and shook her head.

"That's backwards, silly," she said with a good-natured smile. She moved as though to remove the clothing, but Silas, finally starting to feel a bit warmer, stepped back instinctively - and promptly fell to the ground.

He winced as sticks and leaves poked into his backside - his human skin seemed to be much more sensitive than his snake skin. But the red-haired female was already leaning down to pick him up again, and this time, knowing what to expect, Silas was able to stay on his feet without pitching into her arms again.

"You'll get it back," the female said amusedly as though it should be obvious, tugging the clothing off of him even though he was frowning and letting out something like a whine at the loss of heat. He didn't want to protest more than that - he wasn't sure what they would do in retaliation.

But then she was putting it on him again, this time with the opened part at his front. The male who'd given him the clothing took the liberty of attaching something at the bottom, near his knees, before moving a metal piece upwards, closing the front up to his neck, and then Silas was much warmer than he had been with the open back. He smiled a bit in gratitude to the male, and the male held out a hand, but Silas didn't understand because he was already standing up so he didn't need to be pulled up again. He stared at the male, who must've seen his confusion as he dropped his hand.

"Can you walk?" He asked. Silas simply stared at him, not moving, so he nodded in answer to his own question.

"I suppose that's a 'no'." He said. He moved to stand next to Silas and then reached out both arms - one at his shoulder and one under his knees - and then Silas was swooped upwards, carried by the strong male. Silas let out a startled cry and gripped the male's front clothing tightly, suddenly sharply aware of how very vulnerable he was. He squeezed his eyes shut instinctively, though that was a whole new experience altogether, not being able to see anything. Snakes didn't have eyelids after all, and the squeezing of them seemed to build up a painful pressure behind his eyes and in his forehead after a moment, so he opened them a bit to see where he was going.

"Easy, kid," the male said, and then he was being set into a sitting position on one of the logs. The warmth of the fire suddenly made him aware of the ache in his feet and toes as they began to thaw out a bit.

"Here," one of the other males said, holding out his stick with the meat on the end. "You're probably hungry, so I finished cooking this for you while they were helping you over there."

Silas couldn't have cared less whether or not it was cooked as he remembered why he had approached these humans in the first place. He gave the black-haired male a grateful look and used his fingers to take the meat off of the stick - a stick he now realized was made of metal. He hardly noticed how hot it was from the fire as he tried putting it in his mouth and swallowing it all at once.

But it seemed that humans weren't made to swallow their food whole, as he began choking on it before it was even halfway down, eyes watering as though to highlight the body's protest.

"Whoa - kid!" The male who'd carried him was sitting next to him, and he sounded alarmed. Spitting the meat out into his hands, he looked up to see that everyone else looked startled, too.

"Chew before you swallow, alright?" The male sitting next to him said in a gentler tone when he realized that Silas was alright. "It's not gonna disappear when you're not looking."

Silas watched one of the other males chewing first before he brought the meat to his mouth. Copying him, he bit off a little bit from the end and moved his jaw up and down. The explosion of flavor in his mouth made him moan involuntarily - he'd never tasted anything so delicious in his life. The male he'd copied raised a bemused eyebrow at him.

"Don't tell me you've never tasted a sausage before," he said dryly.

Silas didn't answer, simply savoring the now mush in his mouth before swallowing and taking another bite, just as delicious as the last.

"Here, I found an extra pair of socks for you," the last male said, suddenly standing in front of him. Silas jerked in surprise, not having noticed him, and would have fallen over backward off the log if the male next to him hadn't grabbed his arm.

"Whoa, sorry kid," the male with the 'socks' said apologetically. "Didn't mean to startle you like that." He handed over a pair of socks.

Silas didn't know what socks were or what they were for, but he nonetheless shoved the last couple of bites of the sausage into his mouth and accepted the socks. He choked a bit when he almost tried swallowing again without chewing, but then figured out how to move the meat into his cheeks with his tongue.

He stared down at the socks and fingered them, amazed at how well he could feel their softness. His sense of touch was greatly heightened as a human.

He would have been happy enough to just hold the socks and feel their softness, but then the male sitting next to him reached over and put his much larger hands over his own.

"Let me help you with those," he said, taking the socks from his hands. Silas let them go reluctantly, and then the male was leaning down to take hold of one of his ankles. Silas jerked a bit in surprise, but the male simply pulled one of the socks to cover his toes, and then his foot, and then his ankles and lower calves. Silas realized that the 'socks' was like a tube that would make his feet warm, even though it was a bit loose on him.

"So, kid, what's your name?" The male asked, reaching for his other foot. He had to lift this one a bit to get it closer to him, so Silas had to hold onto the log to keep from falling over. He didn't answer, but the male simply put on the other sock as though unperturbed.

"Well, I'm Devon," he said, sitting back up and allowing Silas to sit upright again. He pointed to the male who had given him the socks. "That's Ryan - Keith is his twin." He motioned to the male he'd watched chewing. He pointed to the female with blue eyes. "That's Tracey, my sister. The four of us are cousins." He pointed to the male who'd given him the hot dog. "That's Xavier - he's Ryan and Keith's cousin" - he motioned lastly to the female with fiery hair - "And that's Olivia - she's Tracey's best friend. We usually come up here camping for a weekend in the Fall - it's called the Forest of Dean. Er...did you get lost from your family while camping?"

Silas had looked at each person when their names were announced and they each gave a small wave. Now he was gazing at the male placidly as he spoke. He didn't answer his question however, wondering inwardly if they would give him another of those 'sausages'. He gazed at the meat at the end of Olivia's stick, held over the fire to cook it. She saw him looking and held the handle part out to him.

"D'you want to cook one yourself?" She asked him.

Frankly Silas just wanted to eat it without having to cook it, but clearly it was expected to eat it cooked, and he didn't want them to suspect he was anything but a human, so he reached out and took the stick from her, holding it over the fire like the others were doing.

It took a _long_ time to cook. The boy next to him - Devon - kept having to tell Silas to put it back in the fire because he kept trying to eat it before it was done, and he didn't want to get sick, did he?

Silas couldn't remember _ever_ getting sick.

It had finally finished cooking and earned Devon's approval when he became aware of low voices across the camp fire, like they didn't want him to hear. Immediately Silas listened intently, making it appear that he wasn't doing so as he waited for the sausage to cool off so he could eat it without 'burning a hole through your tongue', as Devon so aptly put it.

"We should call the police," Ryan was saying to Tracey. "We don't know who he is or where he came from - he's probably missing from somewhere."

"We don't want to scare him away now," Tracey answered. Silas absently wondered how humans named themselves. His name, Silas, meant 'forest dweller', because Sueva had found him wandering the forest. But the humans' names all seemed to be random. After all, Xavier's name would suggest that he was a new home, but to Silas that made no sense. He decided to name him Xenos, because he was an unknown stranger. Of course, the other five were strangers too, so he would have to name them also. That would require some thought.

"We can handle it for tonight," Tracey went on. "We're two hours away from the nearest town - it would be crazy to drive down for a five-minute call to the police and drive another two hours back up. Tomorrow we can drive down and call the police when we have more daylight."

"So you'll keep him in the girl's tent for the night?" Ryan affirmed.

"Of course," Tracey answered. "There's more room there." Then she smirked at him. "And it's less smelly."

"Hey, I resent that."

Silas' thoughts wandered as he absently wondered who 'the police' were. They sounded important. Then his eyes widened. Maybe their job was to kill snakes. Maybe the humans knew he was a snake and didn't want to kill him themselves, so they were getting someone else to do it. And what was a 'tent'? It sounded like something that would hurt him. Suddenly he didn't feel like eating the sausage anymore.

"Hey, kid, you alright?" Xavier - Xenos - asked him.

Silas snapped his eyes up to him. He hadn't realized they might see his panic in his expression.

Although...it didn't _look_ like he planned on hurting him. Maybe the police _weren't_ meant to hurt him. But this 'tent' sounded suspicious.

"Hey, I know what'll cheer you up," Keith said suddenly. He reached behind him into a bag Silas hadn't noticed before, and pulled out a clear bag full of some white puffy-looking things, passing it to Xenos.

"Finally! Dessert!" Devon exclaimed. Keith pulled out a box of something Silas couldn't identify and finally several thin brown packages.

Olivia must have seen Silas' confusion, because she said, "It's an American thing called s'mores - you warm the marshmallows over the fire and then squish it between biscuits and chocolate - you'll love it."

Silas watched dubiously as Xenos opened the bag of puffy white things, which he found out were 'marshmallows'. The box had biscuits inside and the brown packages were full of chocolate.

He let Keith make one of the 's'mores' for him, who insisted (to the females' protests) that lighting the marshmallow on fire and letting it burn out on its own was the best way to make it. Minutes later, Silas gazed dubiously at the sweet-smelling thing in his hand. The marshmallow had blackened bits all over but the inside was a gooey white that spilled out and melted the chocolate. The two biscuits held it all together, making it less of a mess than it could've been.

At everyone's urging, he put some of it into his mouth and bit down, wincing a bit at the crunch against his teeth.

When the treat finally made its way to Silas' tastebuds, he couldn't stop his face from screwing up in disgust and instinctively he spat the horrible tasting _thing_ from his mouth. He had never tasted anything so sickeningly sweet in his life, and after that experience, he was certain he'd never try it again.

After he got his wits back about him, he panicked for a moment, thinking he might have offended the humans and now they would surely kill him for being a snake, never mind 'the police' - but then Devon laughed and took the rest of the horrible thing from his hand, proclaiming cheerfully, "More for me, then!"

Silas quickly took a bite of the sausage that was now completely cooled on his stick to get rid of that horrible flavor from his mouth.

Later that night, he was laying down in the 'tent', which he found out was like a little den above ground, made out of cloth. He wondered at humans making themselves so vulnerable - the cloth seemed very flimsy compared to the pits he was used to, only protecting from the wind. And even that was questionable.

But he wasn't planning on falling asleep there. He was waiting for the females on either side of him to fall asleep so that he could turn back into a snake and go home. Truthfully he had been ready to leave for a while now, but the humans were always watching him, so he couldn't turn back into a snake. On the slightest chance that they _didn't_ actually know he was a snake, he wanted to keep it a secret just in case they didn't plan on killing him for his eyes. He shuddered at the thought. But he knew that he couldn't get anywhere on the legs he still couldn't walk on. He wondered how the other humans did it - it must have been with lots of practice. It seemed very hard.

He didn't know how long it had been dark when the females finally fell asleep, but he was more than ready to go home. He concentrated for a moment, trying to will himself to change back into a snake, and then it was done. A moment later he was slithering out the bottom of the 'jacket' Devon had given him, and then out a hole at the bottom of the tent, just large enough for him to get through with no difficulty.

A minute later, he was completely gone from the area, heading towards his home. Being a human was tiring.


	3. Routine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to mrsdemon from the 'other site' for Brit-picking some of the things in the last chapter! I made a few changes, because I do want this to be as accurate as possible, so if you see something wrong, feel free to let me know! - I'll try and change it ASAP.  
> Also, a warning for this chapter: Harry takes the time to completely examine his new human body. Nothing pornographic happens, however - frankly, he's sort of detached from it, comparing a human body to a snake body, but some people might get offended by the frank thoughts he has. I think it's amusing personally, but to each his own. ;)  
> There is also a frank attitude toward sex that will probably be there through this whole fic, but again - NO PORN. Just so we're clear.  
> Also, grab some tissues. I cried when I was finishing up at the end. Maybe I'm just overly emotional, though. You be the judge of that.

Silas gazed at his human body, completely fascinated. It was a couple of days after he had encountered the other humans, and the first time since then that he had become a human again.

He had told Sueva about what had happened the moment he got back - she had been awake and worrying about him. After smacking his head with her tail in chastisement for coming in so late, he had told her everything, and she had been stunned, to say the least. She told him to never change in front of the other snakes of their den, however - she didn't know how they would take it, and didn't want to risk them not accepting it. He had readily agreed, but he had told her that he would show her, farther away, after he got the strength back to do it again. She had reluctantly agreed, and now here they were.

 _:You are a_ _ **young**_ _human,:_ she told him, gazing at his now much bigger form.

 _:I am?:_ Silas was surprised. _:I thought I was just smaller than the other humans - they seemed fairly intelligent.:_

 _:Of course they did,:_ she said more snappishly than she had intended. In a softer voice, she continued, _:Humans have a much longer lifespan than we snakes do. We live about one quarter of the average human's lifetime.:_

 _:That little?:_ Silas was shocked.

_:Indeed. Because of this, they progress more slowly mentally. Snakes mature around two years old in human years - humans mature around eighteen to twenty years. So while you are younger than them, you have been a snake and so matured fast enough that I would guess you to be on the same mental capacity as they are.:_

Silas snickered. _:Wow, humans are kinda dumb.:_

Sueva hissed in amusement. _:Indeed. You have a human child's form - not even halfway to maturity. Perhaps the flesh reflects your youth within.:_

Silas scowled, even though he knew she was teasing. He still remembered how the other snakes had looked down on him when they thought him a dumb runt, like a hatchling in an older body. _:I'm not a child.:_

 _:Your appearance would suggest otherwise, Silas.:_ Sueva hissed in amusement.

 _:I'm_ _ **not**_ _!:_ Silas insisted.

_:Alright, alright - I'm only teasing. Now, are you finished gawking at your human form yet? It makes me nervous.:_

_:You can go on back to the den,:_ Silas dismissed, still a bit snippy after the teasing. _:I'm going to stay here for a little while longer.:_

 _:Don't pout too long, Silas.:_ Sueva hissed as she slithered away. _:It's unbecoming.:_

 _:I'm not_ _ **pouting**_ _!:_ Silas called back, but got no response.

Sighing to himself, he finally _really_ examined his human body for the first time. He hadn't had time to do it with the other humans around and watching - surely they'd have noticed something was off about him. Then he didn't want to do it in front of Sueva - she'd surely tease him for it, never mind that she would be studying him as well.

It was odd, to be so big - everything else felt smaller by comparison. He brought his hands to his face and studied them - each of the lines and swirls and patterns. It was so much different from the scaly patterns he was used to, his own black against green. His skin was soft, even though it was dirty, and a pale white-pink color. His veins stood out faintly blue through the skin of his hands and his arms, and there was dirt under his fingernails. Silas supposed it was much like dirt under his scales and had to be constantly washed to stay clean.

He found little hairs along his arms, a dark brown almost-black color that stood out against his pale skin. He felt his face with his hands - having lips and a nose was so strange - and then his fingers encountered a rather strange roughness he hadn't noticed before on his forehead. Tracing it with a single finger, he felt the roughness shaped into something like a lightning bolt. He wondered at what that was about. Did all humans have that? Or was it the mark of a human who was really a snake disguised as a human?

Dismissing the thought for now, he felt the sides of his head, and was momentarily startled when he encountered his ears. Then he remembered that human ears stuck out, rather than just holes in the sides of his head. He curiously explored the shape of his ears before moving to his hair. It barely brushed his shoulders, and he brought forward a lock of it, discovering that it was ebony black in color. For some reason this pleased him, though he wasn't sure why.

He was fascinated with the discovery of his eyelashes, and his eyebrows. His eyelashes were soft, and his eyebrows a bit rougher but still fairly smooth. He supposed that both of these must be to protect his eyes, like a shade. He traced his fingers over his eyelids - they were just as soft as the rest of his skin, even softer than some parts. Were they meant to protect his eyes? It didn't seem like they could do much good...but whenever his eyes started to burn and dry out, closing his eyelids just for an instant seemed to help. Perhaps it was to stop his eyeballs from drying out.

He felt his tongue with his fingers - now _that_ was strange. It was so much bigger than his snake tongue - he could easily choke on it. But it seemed to be better at tasting than his snake tongue. Perhaps the reason for that was the little bumps all over his tongue - they could sense the food better than the little gland he had as a snake. And his teeth - well, it made sense for humans to have more teeth than snakes. They had to mash their food before swallowing it, after all. Perhaps that was planned that way so that they could taste the food longer? It was certainly much more enjoyable to eat as a human when he could better taste the food he was putting inside him. Although, chewing had been strange, because usually the only way he would eat would be by dislocating his jaw so that he could fit all of the food inside. It seemed human jaws were a bit more durable than that, and no matter how hard he now tried, he couldn't dislocate his jaw without feeling pain. Oh, well.

Moving downward in his exploration, the next thing he discovered were his nipples. He paused, blinking in confusion. So far everything he'd discovered had an easily explained purpose to it, but for the life of him he couldn't see the purpose of his nipples. It was just two spots of dusky pink skin on his chest, darker than the skin around it and not really doing anything but pebbling in the slight chill outside. He contemplated this for several minutes before deciding to test them. He pinched one between his finger and his thumb to see what it would do, and then yelped at the stinging pain that went through his chest, centered mainly around the spot he'd pinched. Quickly he decided that they were probably meant to be pinched by enemies to cause pain and should be protected at all costs.

Moving his exploration downward once more, he poked his midsection, wondering at the lack of ribs all the way down. His stomach area seemed horribly exposed. Perhaps humans wore something over it to accommodate for the lack of ribs there. Surely just below the skin there was _something_ that needed to be protected - it just didn't make sense to have all of one's vital organs and parts in one spot, and then just below it was nothing but muscle and blood. If humans didn't understand the danger that they faced every day just being so exposed like that, then they were certainly very foolish.

Then there was his navel. He couldn't remember exactly the purpose of that - but he knew that it had something to do with birth. Only thing was, snakes were born by eggs, so they didn't have navels. He wondered about the other mammals in the forest - did _they_ have navels? He couldn't remember - usually they were all covered in fur, so even if he was looking he wouldn't have been able to see. But he'd never thought to look - or even ask someone else.

He looked down at his penis next - probably one of the strangest things about humans he could think of. Snake penises only came out of the main body during sexual intercourse, and went back in when they were through. Silas had never mated before, and he certainly had no interest in watching other snakes mating, so he wasn't even sure what a snake penis _looked_ like. But he was sure it didn't look like this. This human penis was so...fleshy. And pink. He poked it dubiously with a finger, as though it wasn't even part of him but rather something unidentifiable and possibly dangerous. It wobbled, and Silas made a little face of disgust. Why would humans have their penises outside their body where it might get hurt and prevent them from being able to mate? It just seemed unnecessarily dangerous, right up there with only having ribs on _part_ of your torso. Foolish humans.

It also seemed strange that the waste from food would come out at two different points. What if someone didn't know whether it was going to come out of their penis or their anus? Why not just make it simple, like snakes, and just have it all come out their anus? Much less messy.

He moved on to examine his legs, but he came to the conclusion that they were just arms for standing on. They were bigger, sure, and a bit hairier, but he supposed that the make up was generally the same. He wondered why all of his toes were different lengths - and why were two of his toes bigger than all the others? It didn't seem to have any special value or significance, but then why were his fingers different lengths, too? Nothing about humans made sense.

Finally finished with his examination, he realized that he didn't know how much time had passed. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours. The sun was still high in the sky, so he wasn't _too_ worried, but he had told Sueva he would be just a little while longer. He sighed, supposing that he would practice learning how to walk another time. He concentrated briefly, and a moment later, the green and black snake was slithering silently towards home.

...

Over the next month, Silas left the immediate area of the snakes every day to practice walking in his human form. At first it was very slow going, and he fell more times than he cared to count. He used the trees in an attempt to keep his balance, causing him to end up with many scratches up and down his arms and chest as he still fell when he tried to hug a tree to stop himself. All the while he tried to be as careful as possible with the area not covered by ribs. He didn't know what parts were under there, but he supposed that they must be important or he wouldn't have extra skin there. Better safe than sorry. He also worried for his penis - that was even more of a hazard, because he didn't have any muscles to move it if he found himself falling. He wanted to mate _some_ day, after all, and he discovered the first couple of days that any injuries he sustained in his human form were translated over to his snake form, too.

But probably the places that got the most injuries were his knees and elbows - or was it elbows and knees? He always got those mixed up - and his backside and palms. It seemed that humans had an instinct to catch themselves when they fell, whether forwards or backwards. His knees and elbows had several rough scabs all over them from the branches and rocks digging into them when he fell, and his backside hurt more each time he fell on it. He was pretty sure he had bruised one of the bones underneath. His hands had calluses on them already, so they didn't get bloodied, but there was frequently bits of skin torn off the top layers and the bones underneath felt bruised. All in all Silas felt like one big bruise, and some days he began to feel dizzy and tired - too much to learn walking for long.

Finally however, after several weeks of hard, diligent work, he finally made it from one side of the clearing to the other without falling. Oh, there were many close calls, and it had taken a very long time, but he was enormously proud of himself for finally accomplishing that daunting task. He collapsed tiredly to the ground beside a tree, panting for breath but still with a pleased smile on his face.

After a few minutes of rest, he grinned suddenly. He would have to tell Sueva - and show her. He was sure she'd be proud. He instantly changed back to his snake form - he'd had a lot of practice in changing and could now do it in a second - and slithered quickly away from the clearing and going back home.

 _:Sueva, I did it! I walked!:_ he exclaimed as soon as he found her alone near home, probably searching for food.

She made a noncommittal noise. _:That's great, Silas.:_

 _:But Sueva, didn't you hear me?:_ he hissed excitedly, slithering a circle around her as she moved. _:I walked as a human without falling down! Well, except at the end, but I'd finished by then. But it was so awesome! I can't go really fast and it's pretty rough, but I figure after more practice - :_

 _:_ _ **No**_ _, Silas,:_ Sueva suddenly stopped and coiled her body so she was facing him, cutting him off sharply. _:No. I don't ever want to hear about you transforming into a human again, do you hear me?:_

Silas was confused and startled. _:But, Sueva - :_

_:I don't want to hear any more protests about it. The others know that something is going on with you and I don't want them finding out about this. I don't know how they would react to this - :_

_:What do you mean, 'this'?:_ Silas hissed peevishly.

_:I mean that no one else can turn into a human - why you? What do you think is it that makes you so different?:_

Silas was confused and angry, and could only retort, _:I don't know!:_

 _:You're obviously not a snake!:_ Sueva was practically yelling, her head bobbing in agitation that Silas couldn't understand what she thought was obvious.

Silas was shocked and enormously hurt. _:Yes, I am!:_ he argued. _:I_ _ **am**_ _a snake!:_

_:You are not! Snakes don't turn into humans! You are a human who has turned into a snake and probably forgotten about being human. You're probably a Parselmouth, and if not you just never learned English and when you changed into a snake you learned as a hatchling would...:_

_:I am_ _ **not**_ _a_ _ **human**_ _!:_ Silas hissed loudly. If snakes could cry in frustration, he probably would have by now. But only humans could do that, and that just made him more frustrated. _:I'm a snake! I'm_ _ **your**_ _snake!:_

 _:Silas, even your_ _ **instincts**_ _are human!:_ Sueva hissed in frustration. _:Have you never thought it odd that you were searching for a_ _ **mother**_ _figure when you came upon me? That is not what hatchlings_ _ **do**_ _! That is what_ _ **human**_ _children do! I am_ _ **not your mother**_ _!:_

Silas tried to deny the pain he was feeling at her brutally honest words, to little avail. _:I know that! I don't think of you as a mother. You're just...you're just the snake I live with.:_

_:Silas, most snakes who live together would have mated by now, but you've lived with me for seven years and aren't even sexually mature. You're not even_ _**physically** _ _mature - you're still half the size you should be. You should be bigger than this at almost halfway through life. You also matured very slowly mentally when you were young, just how human children do. You have the instinct of looking for a mother, just how humans do. You're the only snake who has ever become a human for any length of time, and you seem to understand humans' language several times better than the rest of us. I've thought you different from the moment I met you, and I wanted to help you, but I think you discovering this by accident has been for the better. At least now you know_ _**why** _ _.:_

All of the anger had drained from Silas now, leaving only confusion and despair. He lied in the damp soil, staring at a leaf a couple of centimeters from his head. _:I'm not a human,:_ he protested weakly. _:I can't be.:_

Sueva softened, uncoiling and lying next to Silas, rubbing her head against his in comfort. _:You are,:_ she hissed gently. _:And I still care for you either way. But I don't think you should allow the others to find out.:_

Silas said nothing, simply letting himself be comforted as he realized she was right. He _did_ see her as something of a mother - a rather foreign concept for snakes. He'd never really thought about it before, but now he had a word to match his feelings to. But he also felt lost - he wasn't a snake, but he still _felt_ like one. His thoughts were still a snake's thoughts. He didn't want to be a human. He knew hardly anything about them. He was an outsider in both worlds.

 _:I still want to live like a snake,:_ he eventually hissed quietly. _:It's...well, it's all I know.:_

 _:Then you shall,:_ Sueva said simply. _:But that means you can't change into a human again.:_

 _:I understand,:_ he answered. _:And I won't.:_

...

True to his word, Silas never changed into a human again. He lived peacefully with the snakes in his den for the next two and a half years just as he had before accidentally changing into a human. Sometimes he accidentally came upon more people camping - once even the same people he'd first come upon - but he quickly left the area after that, not wanting to be reminded that he wasn't actually a snake.

He had asked Sueva once if he ought to mate with another snake just so the others wouldn't think him odd, but she had brushed that off, saying that no one would actually check to make sure that he'd mated by now. She'd gone on to say that ever since about a year after he'd shown up, she had told anyone who asked that he'd mated with her several times and that's why they continued to live together. That had made him feel enormously embarrassed for some reason, but she'd simply said amusedly that that explanation was already weird - most males left the females as soon as the act was over, as females tended to lash out afterwards. It wasn't too odd of him to only mate with her, either - they were the only two of their species in their den. However, she had gone on to say that she would never mate with him or expect to - he was still a child, after all, and the fact that he actually _was_ a human made it wrong. Then there was the fact that although she didn't really see him as a son, he still saw her as something of a mother. It was just wrong on so many levels by this point.

After that rather awkward conversation (at least on his end), Silas never brought up the topic again.

He tried the best he could after that to put the fact that he was a human out of his mind, doing and talking about only things pertaining to and about snakes. Sueva understood and respected his wish to pretend he was just a normal snake.

And...life was normal. It was just how Silas preferred it. He lived as he had before, and none of the other snakes in the den suspected anything amiss. They gossiped as they always did, of course - they were snakes, after all. Sometimes Silas heard snippets of conversations where they were talking about him, but it was nothing about him being human, so he really didn't care. If he was going to be a snake, he would act as a snake did and just accept what came his way. He allowed himself to dislike Sierra however, a black kingsnake who gossiped about anyone and everyone. He was sure most of the other snakes didn't like her anyway either, though.

But, all good things must come to an end at some point.

It was just finally getting warmer again, and Silas and Sueva had gone out to find a spot that they could bask in the sun for a bit, to have a peaceful and quiet afternoon. Silas had found a dark rock in a clearing that seemed to absorb much of the heat, so they'd gone and lied on it, side by side. They were mostly quiet, with the occasional short conversation passing between them about nothing of particular importance. They dozed sometimes, and Silas simply enjoyed the peace he felt with Sueva.

The hawk came from no where.

What had once been a quiet, peaceful clearing to the two snakes instantly became a war zone when the hawk let out a screech, just before scraping its talons at Sueva and soaring back into the sky.

Sueva hissed in pain and surprise when the talons caused long slashes to appear on her skin.

 _:Go!:_ she hissed loudly, though Silas was unsure whether she was talking to him or to the hawk. The hawk had turned in the sky and was now diving back towards them, letting out another screech.

Instantly Silas was coiled up in preparation to leap at the dangerous bird, right in front of Sueva in an attempt to protect her. When the bird came close again, he sprang forward and snapped his fangs at the bird threateningly. The hawk screeched in pain and outrage when one of his fangs grazed the skin of its legs, and soared back up into the sky. Silas watched warily, not knowing if it was going to come back, and then saw it turn back toward the clearing and knew that it was.

 _:Silas,_ _ **go**_ _!:_ Sueva ordered in the most fear-filled voice he'd ever heard from her.

 _:You first!:_ he argued as the bird began to dive again. _:I can hold it back!:_

 _:Don't be stupid! You - !:_ she was cut off when the hawk's talons slashed over her again, despite Silas springing at the bird again, and she let out a horrible sound of pain.

 _:Sueva!:_ He panicked when he saw the last slash had torn her skin so far that he could see several of her ribs and the blood spilling out underneath.

 _:There's nothing you can do, Silas - go!:_ she still managed to hiss, though it sounded much weaker than before.

Silas had never felt so worried in his entire life, and his gaze turned to the hawk that was turning around to come for them again. He wished he could do something, but he was so much smaller than the hawk, and nothing he did seemed to work. If only he had some way he could be a real threat to the horrible bird -

In an instant he was a human, standing in front of the rock they'd been on, and looking straight at the hawk with a furious expression as it began to dive again. He picked up a smaller rock beside the one Sueva sat on, and with amazing precision and accuracy, he lobbed it at the hawk coming rapidly closer.

It didn't hit the bird, but it came close enough to startle it and cause it to screech and veer off course. Silas picked up another rock, still keeping his eyes on the hawk, and threw it again.

 _:Be gone, you horrible bastard!:_ he hissed in anger.

The second rock seemed to have done it, and with one last indignant screech, it turned tail and disappeared into the sky. Silas waited a moment, but it didn't seem to be coming back.

He turned back to the rock, and instantly his anger melted away for worry and despair when he saw Sueva lying there weakly, clearly dying.

 _:Sueva?:_ he hissed softly, tentatively. He didn't even think to transform back to his snake form - he seemed to have forgotten about it entirely in the face of this tragedy.

 _:Silas,:_ Sueva whispered. _:Silas...:_

A tear slipped from Silas' eye, but he didn't even notice. _:I'm so sorry, Sueva. I couldn't protect you.:_

 _:Not your job...to protect me...:_ she panted. _:Silas...:_

 _:What is it? What can I do?:_ Silas asked desperately, unconsciously running his fingers over her scales, as though the petting would soothe her.

 _:I have...:_ she panted, trying to get her words out. _:I have eggs. Help me...help me get them out.:_

 _:Eggs?:_ Silas repeated. He didn't know she'd mated, but he pushed the thought aside. _:How? How do I help?:_

_:I'll do...most of it. If I don't...get my eggs out...they'll die...with me. Just...just use your fingers. Move them...along my...tail...:_

_:Sueva!:_ Silas almost choked in shock when he followed her instructions and felt something wrong. _:Your ribs are all broken and half-crushed down here!:_

_:Yes. It wouldn't...work otherwise. You couldn't...help me...if they...weren't...broken. Just keep...going.:_

Through tears, Silas obeyed her instructions, continuing even when she hissed in pain, at her insistence.

He was able to help her get six eggs out before she finally lacked any more strength to continue. Trying to hold back sobs, Silas obeyed when she told him to stop.

 _:Are...they...alright?:_ Sueva whispered, voice almost nothing now.

Silas glanced at the eggs. They all looked like they'd died already, but he looked back at her and swallowed.

 _:Yes.:_ he said thickly. _:Yes, they all look healthy.:_

Sueva let out a pleased hiss at this news. _:Silas...even though...I'm not...your...mother...I'm glad...you chose...me...to love...:_

Silas sobbed, his vision blurry, and reached out to hold her head gently in his hands. _:I_ _ **do**_ _love you, Sueva. You're the best mother snake_ _ **ever**_ _.:_

Sueva let out a small hiss, not a particular word but a simple pleased acknowledgment, and then her body went still.

Silas gazed at the closest mother figure he'd ever had, eyes blank in death. For a second he sat there, quietly crying in his pain. He had never felt such despair in his life at seeing the snake's lifeless body lying in front of him on the stone. Face screwing up, the pain became too much for him to hold inside, and he tipped his face to the sky, letting all of his emotions of anguish and pain and soul-crushing sorrow out in a single, drawn-out wail.

After he'd lost his breath, he bent his head back down and sobbed brokenly over the stone, having no energy left in him. All he wanted was his mother back.

...

He had placed Sueva's body in a small pit he'd dug in the soil beside the rock with one of his hands, and then gathered several rocks within arm's reach about as big as his palm to cover her up. He had finished all except the placement of one rock, and from the top of the rock they'd lied on, gathered up the eggs she'd used the last of her strength in trying to save, intending to place them with her body before covering it up. He had done all this with much difficulty, as he had never learned how to truly walk, and so it took nearly twice as long as it should have.

It was just as he was moving to put the eggs on top of her body that he felt it. One of the eggs moved just slightly.

He almost dropped them all in shock. Every single one of them - all six of them - appeared dead already. They hadn't been in Sueva's body long enough to even get their whole leathery shells, and he had been sure that they would have died.

It was just the one, though - he scooped it up with his other hand and gazed at it. Now that he knew, he could feel the difference from the five eggs in his other hand. He didn't know how he sensed it, but he could feel the life in the one egg he held, and nothing from the others. The others were definitely gone, but this one...

He finished burying Sueva and her five eggs, all the while holding the one other egg protectively in one hand. He promised to himself - and to the not fully developed egg - that he would do everything in his power to make sure that Sueva's one child made it through.

...

Silas didn't go back to the den. He didn't see any good reason to. He was a better protector to Sueva's egg in his human form, after all, and he couldn't very well go back to the snakes as a human and expect to be welcomed warmly there.

So, he moved under cover of the trees, away from the open and dangerous clearing the hawk had attacked in, and made his home there. Temporarily, anyway. In the day he would put the egg under a dome of sorts he made out of rocks and sticks to protect from the other animals, and began practicing his walking once more. While he did this, he chattered on to the egg, as though it could understand him through the shell. He told it how he was a human who could turn into a snake, even though he preferred to be a snake. He told it how he was practicing walking so that someday he could maybe start running, and then be so much safer than before. He told it random gossip that Sierra especially was always interested in, and of the humans he sometimes saw in the forest who liked 'sausages' and wore 'jackets'. He reiterated how odd humans' bodies were, because they were so open and vulnerable, especially as he still fell frequently, because he'd fallen out of practice in almost three years.

At night however, he turned back into a snake and coiled his entire body around the egg so that it was completely cocooned inside - and safe.

This routine continued for several weeks before finally something changed.

It was nighttime, so he was coiled around the egg when suddenly - it jiggled.

Immediately Silas shot away from the egg, uncoiling himself in a flash and gazing at the egg that was now rocking a bit back and forth.

 _It's hatching!_ He thought in anticipation.

Indeed it was. A small crack had appeared on the slightly unhealthy shell, and it took all Silas had not to go over there and help the little snake get out. He knew that they were supposed to do this on their own, or they would be forever weak. This was like the snake's first little test in the world.

It seemed to take forever for the little snake to break away enough of the leathery egg that it could poke its head out. It paused for a moment, flicking its tongue out a couple of times as though to test the air. After a few moments it slithered out the rest of the way. It was so small. It was a medium grey color with a yellow throat scattered with black specks. It gazed at him a moment and then flicked a forked tongue out.

_:Food?:_

It was a female.

Silas would have grinned if snakes were able to make such expressions. The little hatchling was perfectly healthy and whole, if a little on the small side, even for a hatchling.

 _:Yes,:_ he answered, and moved his head to motion deeper into the forest. _:Yes, Sadi, we can go find food together.:_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *bawling*  
> No, it wasn't very original - her dying and leaving behind a single child for him to protect - but I couldn't help it. I do have a reason for it, though - everything I write is for a reason, even if it seems totally random at the time. ;)  
> Next chapter we see Sirius and Remus again, and some important people find a certain boy who only speaks Parseltongue in the forest. (Three guesses who...)  
> Let me know how I did - your reviews mean the WORLD to me!  
> Thanks for reading!


	4. Found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm no expert on snakes. I'm not going to know every detail about them. I do know that snakes hibernate, so it might bother some of you that he went and found snakes immediately after leaving, and that he's still awake now, but I'm going to leave it how it is. I didn't want Harry to leave because of something traumatizing at the Dursleys or something, because that would take too long and I wanted Sirius to never get to Azkaban. I also think that if something forced Harry out of the house, he would remember it later, and I wanted him to think he's just a normal snake at first so that he still has that mentality, along with a whole slew of other reasons.  
> No, he's not going to hibernate later, either – you'll see in this chapter. We'll just pretend that snakes don't hibernate for this, or that it's not through the entire winter. Besides, I don't live in England, but I'm pretty sure that even in summer it cools a lot, and the snake that I've made Harry isn't even native to England.  
> And speaking of that, the Forest of Dean was mentioned in DH canon, and that's the only forest I know of over there so I took it. Also, it's a little over a hundred miles away – with a few days, it's not too unrealistic of a stretch. And they'll be going to the Forbidden Forest later too, and seeing as that's in Scotland, I've decided to ignore all the rules and just write it how I feel like it. You can pretend too – I know you can. :)

It was Halloween night, and Sirius and Remus were both sitting quietly in their shared house, staring into the fire with glasses of Firewhiskey in their hands. The bottle sat between them, mostly full.

"He'd be a first year now," Sirius finally said, and swallowed the rest of his alcohol before reaching for the bottle to pour himself some more.

Remus nodded once, saying nothing and turning his gaze to his alcohol, as though wondering exactly how much he would have to drink to forget everything. He knew exactly who Sirius was talking about - it was the main topic on their minds for the past ten years.

"Ten years," Sirius continued, unknowingly echoing Remus' thoughts. "Ten years since I've seen Ha - _him_. If I hadn't gone after The Bastard, he would be eating himself sick at the Halloween feast right now."

"He's not _dead_ , Padfoot," Remus said a trace more waspishly than he'd intended. "Dumbledore's monitors still show _that_ much."

" _Dumbledore_." Sirius sneered, and would have spat on the ground had they been outside. "If Dumbledore hadn't left my _godson_ on that front porch like a fucking crate of milk, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"You can't blame Dumbledore for this," Remus said with the weariness of having said the same words several times over the past years. "He's just as worried as we are about him. You know how distraught he was when he realized that the trail had gone cold."

Sirius huffed, but he didn't argue further - a first for him. He only tipped his head back to gulp down the entire glass of Firewhiskey in his hand and then poured himself another. He put the bottle back on the table between them and then stared down into his glass silently.

"What do you suppose happened to him?" He finally said in a small voice.

Remus sighed. They'd been through this conversation a million times. "I don't know, Padfoot," he said wearily. "If I had any new ideas..."

"No, I mean..." Sirius contemplated for a moment as though wondering how to get his words out. "What if he just walked away? What if he just woke up and didn't know where he was, so he went to go find someone to help him? He was just walking, you know."

Remus felt a chill go through him at these words. After a pause, he answered, "Then he's gone. We won't find him." At these brutally honest words, he finally tipped back his own glass of alcohol, swallowing it in a single gulp.

...

It was a chilly night in late November, and inside Hogwarts was quiet. It was well past curfew, and teachers and students alike had all gone to bed.

Almost all.

Two students, both redheads and perfectly identical, made their way out of the castle with the help of a certain map in their possession. They were out to explore the Forbidden Forest once more. They didn't care that it was forbidden - in fact, they took these words as a challenge. Before, they had always gone while most people were still up, so Hagrid had caught them before they could explore too much of it. There was once with the centaurs that one of them named Firenze had taken them back to the castle, but this time they would be sure to stay away from that area. They didn't want to be caught again. Plus, it wasn't as though they had ever come into _danger_ in the forest. They were sure the adults were hiding something, and they wanted to know what.

They didn't know how long they had been wandering when they suddenly heard a sound like a branch breaking. Several birds suddenly flew towards them and then up out of the trees, making a lot of squawking noises. They yelped in surprise, and then snickered at each other that they were freaking out over some birds.

Then they heard rustling above them, and a quiet hissing sound. They froze and looked at each other, before slowly turning their gazes upward to see...

Nothing. There was nothing above them. Fred aimed his wand, lit up with the Lumos charm, into the trees above them, but still saw nothing there.

"Probably just an animal," George suggested in an unconcerned voice. "Come on - let's see if we can find a baby acromantula to sic on Ronnie."

Fred snickered, knowing his twin wasn't serious but finding the thought amusing all the same. They traipsed deeper into the forest, occasionally exclaiming over the odd-looking plant or creature.

Fred suddenly tripped over a tree root that came from nowhere, and went falling flat on his face. George hadn't noticed him fall before it was too late, and he went crashing down on top of him.

"Ugh - Gred! Get off me!"

George rolled off of him and then saw - "Hey, it's a baby snake!"

"What?" Fred looked where George was pointing. "Aw, it's cute!"

It was a small grey-green snake with a yellow neck and large eyes. It was coiled up just a couple of feet away from them, gazing at them placidly and occasionally flicking out its tongue.

"You know, Forge, if Slytherin's mascot was a _baby_ snake, I bet a lot more people would like their house," George said, neither of them caring that they were still on the ground on their stomachs as they gazed at the calm snake.

"Right you are, Gred. If the mascot was a baby snake, I wouldn't mind being a Slytherin."

They paused a moment, and then looked at each other. "Nah," they chorused.

"But it's still adorable," George said, slowly putting out his hand to pet the snake's head, but it seemed wary and leaned back away from it, letting out a warning hiss, so he pulled his hand back.

"Wonder what kind of snake it is," Fred said thoughtfully.

"Think Hagrid will know?"

"If not Hagrid then Snape - he probably uses some part of it for Potions ingredients."

"Right. Let's try Hagrid."

Quick as lightning, Fred reached out and closed his thumb and forefinger over the little serpent's head so that it wouldn't bite them - they didn't know if it was venomous or not - and scooped it up in one hand while George had kept it distracted.

Immediately the once placid snake began hissing and writhing, trying to get away from the boy.

"Hey, there - easy," Fred said, getting to his feet. "I'm not gonna hurt you - settle down now."

"It probably doesn't understand English," George said, standing next to him. He reached out to pet the scales in an attempt to soothe it, but it just kept hissing and thrashing.

Suddenly they became aware of much louder hissing coming from behind them. Still holding the baby snake, they looked at each other and then, as one, turned around.

It was a boy. They both blinked in shock - it was a boy who couldn't have been much older than their sister Ginny, and his black hair hung in tangles down to his waist. He was covered in dirt and lacked all self-consciousness about the fact that he was completely naked. He stood perhaps three meters away from them, his green-eyed gaze burning holes in the two boys - and then he hissed again.

The boys' eyes widened when the dark-haired boy hissed in what they immediately recognized as Parseltongue. But who was the boy? What was he doing here? Why didn't he have any clothes?

"Hey, mate," George said a bit nervously. "Um...who are you? What are you doing out here?"

The boy snapped his gaze to George, and hissed again, louder this time and clearly angry. He stood in a threatening stance, like he was ready to spring at them in the blink of an eye. He looked back to Fred and then the snake in his hands, and then back to Fred again.

"I think we might have taken his snake," George deduced, looking worriedly at Fred.

"Oh!" The lightbulb went off, and he held out his hands toward the boy, still holding the little snake. "Is this yours, mate?" The boy hissed again in response, hands coming out to take the snake, not looking at them anymore but at the serpent.

"Oh, sorry about that," Fred said, taking quick steps forward to close the distance between them. The boy hissed loudly again and leaned away slightly, so Fred supposed that the boy must be nervous around them and slowed his pace to appear non-threatening.

The boy held out dirty hands and accepted the grey snake while Fred slowly and carefully let go.

As soon as Fred pulled his hands away, the boy took two quick steps back, that for some reason appeared slightly awkward, like he was unused to walking. The green-eyed boy watched the two of them warily and still with that guarded expression before turning his gaze to the now gently hissing snake in his hands.

The expression on his face instantly changed to one of worry and concern as he let out what sounded like soothing hisses to the little serpent. It hissed back, and they seemed to have a short conversation before the boy retrieved a little lizard from where he'd dropped it on the ground, and placed it on his palm next to the snake. As the snake began to eat it, he began to walk away, as though the twins were now of no concern.

"Wait!" George called suddenly, and the boy looked up quickly, concern disappearing and becoming guarded in an instant.

"We have some food," George continued, coming closer as he fumbled with his bag. "You're probably hungry, and the elves gave us a bunch - "

The boy still looked guarded, but more interested now. They weren't sure if he could understand them, but they both pulled out all the food from their bags, including chicken drumsticks, soft rolls, several pears, and a whole butter pound cake.

"You can have it," Fred said to the still wary-looking boy.

The boy took a couple of awkward steps closer, and then slowly reached out with his free hand to poke one of the drumsticks. He took one in his hand and sniffed it before giving it a quick lick, as though to test it. The barest hint of a smile crossed his face, and the twins began to relax as he took a bite from it.

"Hey, mate, we're sorry about taking your snake," Fred said while the boy chewed. He looked at them and then back at his food, saying nothing.

"Yeah, we didn't know it belonged to anyone," George added. "We were just gonna ask Hagrid - he's the gameskeeper - what kind of snake it was."

"It looks like a little baby," Fred went on. "It's kinda cute. But we weren't gonna hurt it."

The boy blinked at them and went back to chewing.

But as the boy bent his head again, his hair moved a bit and George saw something that made his eyes widen in shock.

"Fred," he said lowly. Fred instantly knew whatever had shocked him was serious, as he used his real name. He looked at his brother, and George finished with, "That's Harry Potter. Look - he has the scar."

Fred saw that George was indeed correct. "Bloody hell," he breathed. "What do we do now?"

...

Sirius was awakened by the sound of a Floo call from the fireplace in his room.

"Sirius?"

Sirius groaned and sat up halfway to look blearily at Dumbledore's head floating in the fireplace. It was still dark outside, telling him it wasn't quite morning yet. Casting a quick Tempus charm, he saw -

"Dumbledore, what're you doing, calling me at five in the bloody morning?" He groaned, flopping back on the bed and closing his eyes once more. The full moon had been just a couple of nights before and he, like Moony, was still tired out. If he felt this awful now, he could only imagine how much worse off his friend was doing at the moment.

 _Not so young anymore,_ he thought vaguely, remembering his Hogwarts days when they could stay up all hours of the night wrestling with a werewolf and be awake enough for classes the next day. _How times have changed._

"Sirius," Dumbledore interrupted his thoughts, his voice - well, serious. "I think you'd better come to Hogwarts."

Sirius cracked open one eye, mildly intrigued. "Why? And why _now_?" He'd never been a morning person, and he didn't appreciate being told to come to the school so early when he'd been sleeping perfectly fine.

"It's Harry," Dumbledore said, instantly grabbing Sirius' attention. "He's been found."

Sirius shot up in bed and gazed at the serious-looking Dumbledore, absolutely shocked. "What?" He breathed. "Where is he? He's..." He swallowed and spoke the next words in acute dread and fear for what he might hear. "He's alive, right?"

"Quite," Dumbledore answered. "He's in the Hogwarts infirmary; however - "

But Sirius didn't hear anything else. He shot out of bed in a flash and threw his door open, running down the hall with the intention of pounding Remus' door down, knowing that even with how awful the werewolf was feeling, he would be up immediately for Harry.

"Moony! Come quick!"

...

Dumbledore wouldn't let Sirius and Remus see Harry immediately. Sirius tried to leave, but Dumbledore stuck him to the chair in front of his desk and told him quite sternly that he wouldn't allow Sirius to see Harry until he understood a few things first.

Sirius practically spat at him. "Fuck you, Dumbledore - that's my _godson_."

"Your _godson_ ," he said sternly, "Doesn't seem to trust people. If you go bursting in there expecting him to immediately accept you, he's more likely than not going to push you away in fear."

Sirius seemed to freeze at these words. "Push me...why? Why doesn't he trust people?"

Dumbledore sighed, looking every year his age. "Because from what I can tell, he has never been around people. He has lived among snakes his entire life."

Sirius choked in shock.

"Snakes?" Remus gasped. "Does that mean he's - ?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, he's a Parselmouth. When Misters Weasley found him, he was defending a young serpent like it was his own, probably thinking that they were going to hurt it. He seems to understand English well enough, but he doesn't seem able to speak anything but Parseltongue."

"How could he have lived with snakes his whole life?" Sirius demanded. "Why did he even go to them in the first place?"

"Of that I am uncertain - and Harry is unable to tell us. He is in the infirmary being tended to by Madam Pomfrey, but I believe he is currently unconscious. He was being quite difficult when he awoke to find himself in an unfamiliar place."

"Awoke?" Remus repeated. "What happened to him?"

"Misters Weasley informed me that when they had discovered who he was, they tried to get him to come back to the castle, but he refused - as well as he could, at any rate - and so they stunned him and brought him to the infirmary."

"They _stunned_ him when he was _scared_ of them?!" Sirius yelled angrily.

"Would you rather they had let him run free as he wished and likely get lost in the Forbidden Forest, where he might have come to all sorts of harm and we mightn't have ever seen him again?" Dumbledore countered, raising a single eyebrow. Sirius subsided at this reminder, but he still didn't like to think about how scared his godson must be right now.

Dumbledore nodded when he saw that he had gotten his point across. "Now, he currently has his snake with him while he sleeps, as it simply refuses to leave him and threatens anyone who comes close. We would separate them, but that might give Harry anxiety when he awakens and doesn't see it. Misters Weasley informed me that he was very protective of it. However, we were able to get Harry washed up and Madam Pomfrey has taken the liberty of trimming his hair to be more manageable."

Sirius was impatient and ready to see his godson now. "Alright," he said annoyedly. "I get it - we need to tread carefully. Can you let me up so I can go see him, now?"

Dumbledore nodded, and with a wave of his wand, Sirius was freed. He shot to his feet and exited his office and toward the infirmary, Remus following right on his heels.

Dumbledore gazed after them, hoping that they heeded his words and didn't act rashly. He gazed down at his hand, at the child-sized, crescent shaped bite mark near his wrist. He didn't want Harry to distrust the two people who loved him most in the world as well - he was sure that would crush the hearts of the last two Marauders.

...

Silas awoke slowly, not sure what was different, but something felt...wrong. There was no wind or sound - and there was a funny smell in the air. He shifted slightly, and then realized that he was on his back. But why was he on his back? He never went to sleep except in his snake form, and snakes slept on their bellies. So why was he in human form?

_:Silas?:_

He answered automatically, eyes still closed. _:Sadi...what's going on?:_

_:I don't know. It is unfamiliar. They made you go to sleep:_

In an instant, he remembered - the two red headed males who had somehow made him sleep with a red light that came out the end of their sticks, and then when he woke up he was in a white room. When trying to get away, an old male had tried to push him back and so he bit his hand instinctively - shame he wasn't in snake form at the time - and so an older female had forced him to drink something awful that made him go back to sleep.

He bolted upright in an instant, eyes flying open in panic. Where was he? Why was he there? What were the humans going to do to him? Why did they take him from his home? Was Sadi hurt?

 _:Did they hurt you?:_ he voiced his concerns, seeing and now feeling her body wrapped about his wrist.

_:No, Silas, I'm okay - don't worry so much. I have been watching over you while you slept to make sure they didn't hurt you. The female cut your hair though, and made the dirt on you go away. You smell funny now.:_

_:What about those males with the red hair? Did they hurt you?:_

_:No. They made you float into here, though, and told an old male with long hair about you. He's the one you bit. He smells like honey.:_

_:Where is 'here'?:_

_:I don't know. It is a very large building with lots of young humans inside. It was quiet first, but now it's the middle of the day and all of the humans have woken up. They are very loud.:_

Silas didn't know what could possibly have so many humans in one place all at once, and the ideas his brain put forth were rather terrifying.

"Harry?"

Startled, not having realized anyone was near him, Silas turned his head and saw the male who had spoken, an older male with black hair and light blue eyes that shone with something he couldn't identify. He hadn't even noticed him sitting beside...well, whatever it was that he was laying on.

 _:They've been sitting there for hours,:_ Sadi informed him. _:But they seemed really happy to see you, and don't seem to intend you harm, so I let them stay.:_

 _:They?:_ Silas repeated even as he looked to the man next to him -

And immediately he tensed.

The man wouldn't outwardly appear threatening - he appeared tired, mostly, with greying brown hair and a scar running from his eyebrow, across his nose, and down to his jaw. But it was those eyes - amber-colored with hints of gold and dark brown - that made him wary. Only one type of animal had those eyes, and that faint smell.

 _:_ _ **Wolf**_ _,:_ he hissed, tensed and ready to spring.

 _:That's what I thought, but I wasn't sure,:_ Sadi admitted. _:I would have scared him away, but - :_

 _:Sadi, hush,:_ he said, though not unkindly. He gazed warily at the tired man, not sure how to respond to the new threat but not willing to put his guard down.

"Harry, we're so happy that you're found," the dark-haired man said, drawing his attention away from the wolf. "We've missed you so much!"

Silas' brow creased in confusion. These people knew him? Why didn't he know them? Who were they? Why were they calling him Harry? The old man he'd bit had called him Harry, too, now that he thought about it…

The man saw his confusion and said, "But of course you don't remember us – you were only fifteen months old when…when we last saw each other." He seemed uncomfortable with these last words for some reason, hesitant with his words. Then he seemed to shake it off and continue, "Well, I'm Sirius, your godfather, and this is Remus, your honorary uncle. I just call him Moony, though."

Silas didn't dwell on the part about the wolf – he'd focused more on the first part of the man's sentence.

 _:What's a godfather?:_ he hissed, forgetting for a moment that the man didn't understand him.

The man blinked at him before shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Harry – I don't speak Parseltongue. I don't know what you said." He appeared guilty about this for some reason. Perhaps this was why Silas couldn't bring himself to scowl at him. He glanced at the wolf, though, and shifted uneasily.

The wolf seemed to sense his uneasiness, but he didn't know the cause of it apparently and simply looked confused. Then he spoke for the first time, and Silas flinched a bit.

"I don't know what we can do to make any of this easier, but…you _can_ understand us, right?" His voice was gentle, not at all what Silas had expected from such a dangerous predator.

 _:Yes,:_ he hissed in answer, not sure how else to communicate it but through speech. Snakes didn't really use body language to communicate with each other.

Obviously they didn't understand, because the two looked at each other and then back at Silas.

"Nod for yes," Sirius instructed, nodding his head as though to show him how, "And shake for no." He shook his head in demonstration. "Can you understand us?"

Silas nodded. The motion felt odd to him, but it made the two of them flash beaming smiles at him.

"Good!" Sirius said, clapping his hands once. "So that means we don't have to teach you a totally new language with no one translating – you just need to learn how to form the words with your tongue. That's much more doable."

Silas didn't understand what they were talking about. Why would he need to learn to speak English? He didn't intend on staying here – it was all fine and great that they'd known him before he was a snake, but really he preferred being a snake and taking care of Sadi –

"We were best friends with your dad, you know," Sirius' voice cut into his thoughts. "He made me your godfather, so I was supposed to have taken care of you after…" he swallowed as a look of pain flashed across his face. The wolf reached out and put a hand on his knee, in silent support. Silas was just happy to have deduced what a godfather was, though the camaraderie between the nice man and the wolf intrigued him. It seemed an oxymoron for a dangerous creature to be friends with someone who seemed as spirited as Sirius. Although, the wolf wasn't acting very dangerous at the moment.

"Anyway," Sirius cleared his throat. "A whole lot of stuff happened, but I am sorry that you never knew us over the years. I'm sure it would have been preferable to living with those snakes for so long…"

 _:How_ ** _dare_** _you!:_ Silas cut him off furiously, glaring fiercely at the man and clenching his fists, not caring that he didn't even understand him. _:'Those snakes' were more of a family than_ ** _you_** _ever were! I don't even_ ** _know_** _you, and you have the_ ** _audacity_** _to come in here and tell me that they_ ** _weren't good enough_** _?! If I was a snake right now, I would sink my fangs right into your eyes so you'd go_ ** _blind_** _! Obviously you can't see well enough already, or you would be able to see how much I_ ** _love_** _'_ _those snakes'!:_

Both males' eyes had widened in shock and surprise at this angry tirade of Silas', surprised at the sudden fury he showed. Neither could understand what he had said, but they knew that Sirius had said something that angered him. Even the little snake wrapped around his arm was swaying and bobbing its head angrily.

"I'm – sorry, Harry," Sirius said after the explosion had ended, still looking gobsmacked. "What…what did I say?"

"I think it was the suggestion that the snakes weren't good enough for him that did it," the wolf said, gazing at Silas as he spoke. Glad that he understood, Silas nodded once. At this, the wolf continued at Sirius' still confused expression, "Padfoot, these snakes were Harry's family – he obviously loved them. He's angry because you insulted the only family he's ever known."

At these words, Sirius' expression became one of enormous guilt – firstly for offending Silas, and secondly for not having been there to be part of that family he should've known.

"I'm so sorry, Harry," he apologized sincerely. "I truly didn't mean it offensively – I just meant…well, _I_ would have liked to raise you. I was _supposed_ to raise you. You, me, Moony – we would have been a family. But I see you already have a family." He nodded to Sadi.

Silas' hackles went back down some at these words, as he grudgingly recognized that Sirius was telling the truth. And he really couldn't fault him for wanting him as a part of his life – he had been best friends with his father, after all.

 _:Silas,:_ Silas said quietly. They kept calling him Harry, and it was getting annoying. It wasn't his name.

"Pardon?" Sirius looked confused.

 _:Silas,:_ Silas repeated moodily. _:My name is Silas.:_

The wolf looked like he was studying something very difficult. "Wait a second," he said in a voice of realization. "Are you…are you saying 'Silas'? Like a name?"

Mood suddenly lifted that the wolf had understood, he nodded quickly. _:Silas,:_ he repeated. _:Silas is my name.:_

But the wolf didn't understand that part. Instead he was looking at Sadi. "Is that his name? Silas?"

Immediately Sadi rose her head up and hissed in outrage. _:How_ ** _dare_** _you! I am not a_ ** _male_** _!:_

 _:It's alright, Sadi,:_ Silas soothed, petting a finger over the top of her head. _:They just don't understand.:_

 _:But Silas!:_ Sadi whined, turning her head to look at him. _:They think me a male! I'm a_ ** _female_** _!:_

 _:And you're a very beautiful female,:_ Silas assured her. _:Humans are just stupid and they can't see that, but any male snake would and they would be lucky to have you.:_

Ire appeased, Sadi settled back down, though she still shot daggers with her eyes at the inadvertently offensive wolf.

Silas looked back to the foolish males, who had watched his exchange with Sadi with something like fascination and surprise. He shook his head in answer to the wolf's previous question and patted his chest with an open palm.

 _:Silas,:_ he said, then held up his arm that held Sadi, talking slower so that they could understand. _:Sadi.:_

"Shyday?" Sirius questioned. The wolf shook his head before Silas could respond.

"No, I think it was 'Sadi'," he said, then looked at Silas. "Is that right?" Silas nodded with a small smile.

"Moony, do you have some Parseltongue abilities in you?" Sirius teased lightly.

The wolf shrugged. "Just better hearing. I can pick up more of the subtle sounds underneath, and since names are the same in every language but with different pronunciations, I can pick that up." He looked at Silas. "Sadi is a girl's name – is your snake female, then?"

Silas nodded, though Sadi, still sore over the insinuation that she was male, muttered, _:'Your' snake…I_ ** _belong_** _to no one, fool!:_

But it was such subtle hissing that neither of the two thought that she was actually speaking, and the wolf turned to look at Sadi. "I do sincerely apologize then, dear Sadi, for mistaking you for a male. You are, however, still very beautiful."

Sadi said nothing, gazing back at the wolf, and flicked out a tongue to test the honesty of his words. _:Alright,:_ she finally accepted grudgingly, looking away. _:But don't offend me again, wolf, or I'll bite you.:_

 _:Sadi, he can't understand you,:_ Silas said amusedly.

Sadi made a dismissive, sniffing sound and looked away. _:Don't care. The warning still stands.:_

Silas smiled in amusement, and the Marauders marveled at how it transformed his face. They had seen James at eleven when they looked at him - except for Lily's eyes, of course - but his smile was all Lily. It was sweet and soft and truly happy, just like hers was.

Silas looked back at them, and Sirius cleared his throat. "Harry..." He said, then corrected himself at the look the boy gave him. "Er - Silas, that is...you just...you look so like your father did."

"Except for your eyes," Remus added, looking suspiciously misty-eyed as well. "Those are all Lily's."

At Silas' confused expression, Sirius elaborated, "Yes, Lily - your mother. She was a beautiful witch - and very kind and forgiving."

But Silas was no longer listening to the man talking about his human mother. Rather, he couldn't help but think of the one _he_ looked to as a mother for so long - Sueva. She had hatched under a lily, and so had named herself Sueva, because it meant 'lily'. The coincidence was amazing, that both his mothers - whether real or surrogate - would have the same name.

Sadi seemed to instinctively know what he was thinking of, and unwound from around his wrist to slither to his shoulder, where she rubbed her head against his cheek in comfort. She had of course never known Sueva personally, but she knew that whenever Silas spoke of her, he would get a sad tone of voice. He knew Silas had loved her, but she had been attacked and killed by a hawk before he could do anything to save her. She also knew that she was the only one of her clutch to have survived the attack and premature laying of eggs from Sueva's body. It was a lot of the reason why Silas was so protective of her. She knew that most of their species lived solitary lives - otherwise they could be cannibalistic. But it was okay with Silas - perhaps because he wasn't actually a snake. But she would never say that out loud - it might hurt his feelings, even though she personally found nothing wrong with him being a human who could turn into a snake. He was her older brother, and that was that.

He reached up a hand and pet his fingers along her scales in acknowledgement and gratitude of her comfort. She simply hissed quietly to him. Most of the time he was the one protecting _her_ , after all. She would do the same for him, every time he needed it. It was her duty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is getting long, so I'll cut it off there. Next chapter will have a rather important meeting between Harry and a certain witch, so I'll keep that longer meeting to the next chapter. ;)  
> As you've probably noticed, I've made it sort of a theme for snakes to name people based on meaning – that will continue for the whole fic, and it may get a bit difficult to keep it clear, so here's a list for now of the name meanings –  
> Sueva - lily  
> Silas - forest dweller  
> Xenos - stranger or guest  
> Sierra - black, saw-toothed  
> Sadi - lucky or fortunate one  
> And, I'll update with new meanings as the story goes on. But I'm no expert – I'm mostly using Nymbler. ;p  
> Thanks for reading!


	5. Superior

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for all the support the last chapter – I'm happy to see that more people are loving this fic!  
> It was also pointed out in the last chapter how I'm calling Harry by Harry in the narration and Sirius and Remus should call Harry Silas as he wishes…all I have to say about that is that there are plans. Look at it from Sirius and Remus' point of view – it's going to be hard for them to remember to call him Silas all the time, because that's not their instinct.  
> And as far as narrating him as Harry, I have plans for him to want to be called Harry again. (I believe that's chapter 15, if I remember correctly…) When it's third person limited to his POV he will refer to himself as Silas in narration, but he'll also be calling people around him by different names. And while Silas is the only name he's known, it's not his given name, so narrating him as Silas all the time would be the same as always narrating Sirius and Remus as Padfoot and Moony. Realistically it is just his nickname.  
> If anyone has any other concerns, I am more than happy to answer them! I'm sure I'll make several mistakes as the story goes on...  
> Hope you enjoy this update!

Silas didn't know why he couldn't leave. He had been in the 'infirmary' for a whole day now, because the older female called 'Madam Pomfrey' wanted to check and make sure that he was completely healthy. He didn't know why it was necessary – yes, he may be more tired than usual, he had never gotten _sick_ in his life, but she couldn't understand when he tried to tell her. He had tried getting up from the bed, but she had pushed him back and given him another 'potion' called a 'calming draught'. It dulled his emotions and made him want to get up less, but he knew that the feelings were off and didn't like what the potion did to him. He wanted to bite her.

But he lied placidly in the bed anyway, while Sirius and the wolf – Shyam-Seff, he named him – chattered on to him, mostly about his parents, whom he had found out were dead, which was why they weren't there then. It made something in him ache – both his mothers were dead, as well as his father. He wasn't sure about fathers, as he'd never had one or seen one, but he supposed it must be like the male version of a mother, based on the way they talked about him.

One thing he very much disliked were the clothes that they expected him to wear. He had never had to wear anything before, but it seemed that humans wore clothes more for modesty than warmth, though that was certainly another reason to wear them, as Sirius had explained to him when he tried removing them the day before. He hadn't been happy with the rule, but he had subsided, not wanting them to have thoughts about him not being human. He wasn't sure what they would do if they discovered that he could turn into a snake, so he kept it a secret.

He wasn't even sure _why_ the humans were keeping him there. Surely they didn't expect him not to go back to the forest? That was where he wanted to live – not some funny-smelling human abode. Although...he _did_ want to know more about these mysterious parents he'd lost. That was the main reason he'd stayed so long, for he was sure that if he really tried that he would be able to get out.

Sirius and Shyam-Seff had left for lunch, telling him that they would be back soon, not that Silas particularly cared. 'Madam Pomfrey' had given him a tray of food in bed, but he wasn't particularly hungry, no matter how delicious it smelled. He fed some of the 'roast beef' to Sadi, who seemed to enjoy it well enough, but she turned away from the carrots and 'mashed potatoes'. Silas was thirsty, so he had tried some of the 'pumpkin juice' but then immediately spat it out. It was even sweeter than the 's'mores' he'd had years before, and absolutely disgusting.

It was as he was contemplating the edibility of the vegetables that the door to the infirmary opened and a crying female came in. As Madam Pomfrey ran over to her to see what was wrong and help her, Silas could see that the female's face was covered in boiling red spots. They looked painful, and he wondered what had caused it. He shifted in his bed to watch as the matron ushered the female to another bed, where she lied down before being handed two different potions bottles. She drank them and handed the bottles back to the woman, tears still escaping, but this time it seemed to be more in sadness than in pain.

"Now, you just lie there and make yourself comfortable," the old woman said. "You'll be here for the next hour or so so that I can monitor your reaction to the boil cure potion. There's a chance you could be allergic to it, so if you begin to feel strange in any way or your nose hairs start growing quickly, you just call for me, alright?" The young female nodded, looking down at her hands folded in her lap, and the older female bustled away.

The female sighed to herself, ducking her head further as she seemed to try and hide her crying. Her bushy hair covered her face, but Silas had thought that the potions were supposed to help her with her pain, so he wasn't sure why she was still crying – and even more than she had before, it seemed.

He rose from his bed at the end of the room and crossed the distance between him and the female. She didn't seem to notice him, so he reached out and tentatively moved her hair away – perhaps her hair was blocking her ability to see him, he decided.

Her head snapped up to gaze at him, and he jerked his hand away, startled at the sudden movement. He could see that the boils on her face had faded mostly away, but her face was red and her eyes were bright from her crying. Stray strands of her hair stuck to her face because of her tears, but his first impression of her was that she was a very pretty human.

When she saw him, she let out a shuddering breath and looked away. "Oh," she said in a bitter, hurt voice, "I suppose you want to poke fun at me, too? Well, go ahead – it must make you feel so very _superior_ to get one on the know-it-all nightmare!"

Silas didn't understand why anyone would be mean to a female so pretty, but by her words it sounded like a lot of people did. He instantly felt upset with these people – he only cried sometimes, but when he did it was because he was sad. And this girl had cried a lot – she was obviously very sad.

He wasn't sure exactly how to convey his comfort – usually snakes rubbed their heads against the sad one's head, but somehow he didn't think that would go over the same as a human. Humans tended to use their hands and their arms more, but he hadn't ever seen one human comfort another, so he wasn't sure what...but then he interrupted his own thoughts when he suddenly remembered how Shyam-Seff had put his hand on Sirius' knee the day before, and Sirius had seemed to be better after that. He didn't know how or why such a thing could help - but perhaps it worked like it did for snakes, that they were letting the other know that they were there for them? So, he took the initiative and reached out to put his hand on the female's knee.

She looked up at him, startled, and then seemed to really see him for the first time. "You don't go here," she blurted, and then her face went red and she seemed embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I meant – well, I'm sorry about thinking you're just another bully here. You look like a first year, but I've never seen you before. It's just…" she sighed and used the palms of her hands to wipe away the tears on her cheeks while she continued. "A lot of the first years and even people from other years don't like me because I know a lot even though I'm muggleborn. They call me a know-it-all, but I don't _mean_ to offend anyone! I just like answering questions and I don't understand how people _can't_ be excited and amazed – I mean, it's _magic_! I grew up reading stories like Narnia and King Arthur and then I found out that I could make stuff happen just with the wave of a wand and I want to do it _all_ …but I'm an outsider here." She looked very sad when she said this. "I've been here three months and not made any friends, but I thought it would be so much easier because now I can understand why I'm different. I thought it might be better, because we're _all_ different, and if we're all different from the rest that makes us the same. I suppose I just ought to quit Hogwarts over Christmas break and go back to the Muggle world – I'm sure I could catch up on my schooling there so I wouldn't be too far behind…"

Silas didn't understand everything she was saying – he didn't have the first clue what a Muggle was – but he understood that she meant to quit this 'Hogwarts'. But it was clear in the midst of her little rant that she was very excited and passionate about it, and he didn't want her to give up on something she was so excited about. But he wanted her to understand what point he wanted to get across to her, and he was sure that she wouldn't understand Parseltongue. He had never wanted to speak English so badly so he could tell her to stay and ignore the bullies.

He reached up with the hand on her knee and put the ends of his fingers over her lips to stop her from talking further about how she could catch up over Christmas break and go back to school in January. Startled by his movement, she stopped and looked at him with slightly widened eyes.

Thinking hard, Silas tried hard to remember how her lips and tongue had formed the English words and tried to copy it. Removing his hand from her lips, he moved it to pat the center of her chest and said, "Ssoo – bpee – woh."

She blinked at him, confused. "Pardon?" she blurted.

Silas was not to be deterred. He wanted her to understand. Trying again, he patted her chest.

"Me…" she said slowly, bewildered. Remembering how Sirius had taught him to say yes and no, he nodded. Slower, awkwardly, he repeated, "Sssoo – bpee – wee – orh."

"Soo-pee-wee-orh," she muttered to herself, then translated more loudly, "Superior?" He nodded happily, but she still didn't understand, looking obviously confused, so he patted her chest again and repeated, "Ssoo-bpee-wee-orh."

The shoe dropped. "You think _I'm_ superior?" she said in surprise. He nodded delightedly and clapped his hands, glad she'd understood.

She gave him a beaming smile, and Silas marveled at how much prettier she looked smiling. He hadn't even thought it possible – but even her large two front teeth endeared her to him. Although they were flat on the bottom, they reminded him a bit of snake fangs, and that was surprisingly comforting to him.

"Well, thank you for saying that," she said, her smile becoming smaller. "But you don't really know me, so I don't think you understand…"

Silas started to become angry – not because of what she said, but because obviously there were people who had been mean to her so often that she didn't believe she was superior even when someone told her so. Anyone with such a low self-esteem had to have been through some pretty tough bullying for a while, and he was angry at the people who would dare do such a thing to such a sweet female. He had just met her and he already knew that she was superior to the others - not in a way that they should be stomped on, metaphorically or literally - but she was just inherently _better_. She was the prettiest human he'd ever seen, and on top of that he was very smart - smarter than most of her peers, from what it sounded like - and she was very nice, but he was certain that the people bullying her were just jealous of her.

Without thinking of trying to make her understand, he interrupted her in Parseltongue.

 _:No, don't you dare say that!:_ he hissed, startling her into silence while she stared at him with wide eyes. He went on, _:Those bullies obviously don't know you either, but you're trusting_ ** _their_** _words?! You're the prettiest and nicest human I've ever seen, and just because those stupid bullies think that you should disappear doesn't mean that you should do so just because of their say-so! Don't give them that satisfaction – just show them that you can't be beat and you're smarter than all those idiots put together! Don't let them get you down!:_

He wanted to say a lot more, but he finally stopped when he noticed her shocked eyes. But she wasn't scared, rather – amazed.

"That was Parseltongue!" she gasped, surprised. "I didn't know that anyone could speak it anymore – the last known Parselmouth was You-Know-Who, after all, so people don't really…" Then she stopped and she seemed to realize something. "Is that why it's hard for you to speak English? Because you can only speak Parseltongue?" He nodded, amazed that she had got it so quickly.

"Oh," she said thoughtfully. "I had wondered – well, you had seemed very focused and you seemed to understand what I was saying, but I had thought you might be autistic, or a selective mute, but then…" she flushed a bit but still went on, "Well, I don't speak Parseltongue of course, but I recognized the sound of it from a book that described it. I just think that it's fascinating that you can be _born_ speaking a whole new language. I wish I could talk to some sort of animal, even if it's not snakes. But why do you only know Parseltongue? Does your family only speak Parseltongue at home, or something?"

Silas wasn't sure how to explain it to her understanding, but her guess sort of made sense – the snakes _were_ his family, after all – so after a second of reviewing this thought in his head, he nodded in confirmation.

The female looked fascinated. "That's amazing. But if you're not a student here, then why - ?" She suddenly cut herself off. "I'm sorry. I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Hermione Granger."

"Sssigh-lessss," Silas introduced, half English and half Parseltongue.

"Silas?" Hermione clarified with a smile. Silas nodded happily, but before she could speak again, he lifted the arm that had previously been obscured by the edge of the bed. She gave a little "eep!" at the sight of Sadi wrapped around his arm, but that was all.

"Sssay-ddyee," he said, still with the half-and-half languages.

"Sadi?" She was less sure about having gotten this name right, but at his nod she grinned again and scooted forward a bit for a closer look.

"That's a baby boomslang!" she exclaimed. "I've read about them before - they're super venomous and can grow anywhere from one hundred to one hundred and sixty centimeters long. They usually live solitary lives, because they can sometimes be cannibalistic, except in mating of course, but even then female snakes are usually very aggressive right afterwards. The name 'boomslang' means 'tree snake' in Dutch or Afrikaans, because they live primarily in trees, and they usually live in the arid savannas of Africa..." She cut herself off abruptly and an embarrassed flush came to her cheeks. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm probably boring you with all of this…"

Silas shook his head with a small smile. Sadi had been preening while Hermione had explained what she knew, because she was of course completely right, and Sadi was flattered that she knew so much about her. At Sadi's request, he brought his arm closer to Hermione, so that Sadi could slither off of Silas' wrist and to Hermione's leg.

Hermione froze, eyes wide and a bit nervous as the snake moved up to her arm, crawling up to her shoulder.

"Is she…is she going to bite me?" she squeaked, not moving while Sadi moved through her hair, flicking out her tongue a couple of times. Silas shook his head quickly in the negative to Hermione's question. Sadi was just showing her trust for the young female – she wouldn't hurt someone without provocation.

 _:Her hair is nice,:_ Sadi hissed to Silas as Hermione slowly relaxed. _:And she knows I'm a female. I like her.:_

Silas smiled at Sadi amusedly. _:I like her, too.:_

Madam Pomfrey watched the two children from her office with a small smile on her face. Harry hadn't warmed to anyone else, looking at people distrustingly and defensively – her, Dumbledore, the Weasley twins, even Sirius and Remus – and she had begun to wonder if he would never show invitation for company to anyone. She was glad he could be comfortable with Miss Hermione Granger – poor girl, she was mercilessly bullied and picked on by the people in other Houses and even her own House, and she came to the infirmary about three times a week for reversals to spells, hexes, and sabotaged potions that injured her person. She had seen how she was very lonely all the time, with no friends to speak of and only her books to keep her company, though she had remained strong through it all with only a few tears occasionally escaping in the privacy of the Hospital Wing. It had caused her heart to ache, but she was hopeful that the two of them could become friends, and help each other.

…

Hermione had had to leave the Hospital Wing to go back to classes, but she had promised Silas that she would return before dinner. Sirius and Remus had shown up just as she was leaving with a lighter spring to her step than she had before, and Silas had gone back to his designated bed with Sadi wrapped once more around his wrist.

"Harry," Sirius said when he sat down, "We've been talking with Dumbledore – he's the Headmaster of Hogwarts. You're going to live with Moony and me now, at my house out in the country. Since it is the middle of the year, it would be very difficult getting caught up on what the first years are being taught right now, as well as learning to speak English rather than just understand it when someone else is speaking. Plus, there's reading and writing, because that's kind of a must for the essays…"

"Padfoot," Shyam-Seff interrupted gently. "Get to the point."

"Er – right," Sirius said awkwardly. "So, I'm going to take up tutoring you in magic and get you all caught up as far as that goes. It will really just be theory and practical work – that way you can get all caught up in time for second year, and you can come back to Hogwarts and do your schooling like everyone else does. Officially I'll be teaching you Charms, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, History of Magic, Herbology, and Astronomy. Unofficially, I'll teach you Charms, Potions, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. I'll just skim through the basics of the others, because you don't really do anything in those till second or third year, so you'll be fine on that front." He winked at Silas mischievously. "Don't tell anyone, though."

Silas thought that that sounded mostly acceptable. He had been told about magic and all of that before lunch, but he didn't understand what all of those subjects were. The only ones he really understood were History of Magic, because the explanation was in the name; Transfiguration, because that was how he could change between human and snake form and it seemed a little obvious; and Potions, because that was what Madam Pomfrey called the things she made him drink. He thought Astronomy might be about stars but he wasn't certain, and Defense Against the Dark Arts sounded like a way he could defend against the wolf. He just wasn't certain why Sirius would acknowledge that Shyam-Seff was dangerous – he thought they were good friends. Why would he insult his friend? Perhaps Defense Against the Dark Arts was about something else, though Silas wasn't sure what it might be.

He wasn't happy about going to live with a couple of strangers, especially the wolf, but he supposed that Sirius would be there in case he tried to harm him. Perhaps he _was_ aware that his friend was dangerous, but he didn't care? But, he supposed he would have to get used to being around him. It wasn't as though he would be expected to be _alone_ with Shyam-Seff for some reason…

At Silas' silence, the wolf began speaking. "So, while he is teaching you the magical side of things, I will take on teaching you how to speak English and how to write and read. Hopefully we can get it down before next September, but I have no doubt…"

But Silas was no longer listening. Rather, he had begun to panic inwardly. Lessons – with Shyam-Seff? That would almost certainly have him be alone with him for an extended period of time. What might the wolf do to him in that time? Wolves were dangerous to snakes – would he be a danger to him? Worse – would he be a danger to _Sadi_? He held the wrist holding Sadi close to his chest, as though to get away from the dangerous male.

"Harry – Silas?" Sirius' voice cut into his thoughts. "You're white as a ghost. Are you feeling alright? Do you need more potions?"

Silas shook his head rapidly. No, he didn't need more potions. He couldn't be forced into sleep or apathy again – it made him powerless, and being powerless was dangerous. What he needed was an escape. He was rapidly feeling more and more threatened in the wolf's presence, but he couldn't afford to change into a snake and give his secret away – who knew what kind of danger he might be in then? It was better to stay as he was, where he knew the variables, rather than throw a surprise into the mix.

 _:Silas?:_ Unsurprisingly, Sadi had noticed his distress, and now slithered up to drape around the back of his neck. She rubbed her head against his cheek, in equal parts to get his attention and to bring comfort.

Before she could say anything though, Shyam-Seff said, "Harry?" and reached out to put a hand on his knee.

Before he could touch him however, Silas saw the movement, and with the adrenaline already pumping through his system, he shot off the bed and awkwardly stumbled to the other side of the room, pressing against the wall and fighting to stay in human form while he gazed at the two males with wide, slightly unfocused eyes.

"Harry!" Sirius exclaimed, his voice shocked while he rushed closer. Silas hissed loudly at him and the wolf coming right behind him, and they halted.

 _:You stay_ ** _away_** _from me!:_ he told them harshly, forgetting for a moment that they couldn't understand him. Sadi was tensing and shifting agitatedly on his shoulders, but he dismissed it for the moment. _:I don't want you coming any closer to me, and if you do, I will turn into a snake and bite you, consequences be damned! I am_ ** _not_** _going to be alone with the_ ** _wolf_** _and I'm_ ** _not_** _–_ _!:_

 _:_ ** _Silas_** _!:_ Sadi's hiss cut him off, and he looked at her with wild eyes, still keeping the other two in sight out of the corner of his eye.

 _:Silas, calm down,:_ Sadi ordered, her tone brooking no argument. _:Nothing is going to happen to you. I will bite them if they lay so much as a finger on you in harm.:_

 _:It's not_ ** _me_** _that I'm worried about!:_ he hissed in a harsh tone, but Sadi could still detect the terror underneath it. _:It's_ ** _you_** _! What if I'm not there to…:_

She interrupted him by slapping the end of her tail against his cheek, and he halted in surprise. _:Silas, pull yourself together. I'm not just a little hatchling anymore – I_ ** _can_** _take care of myself.:_

 _:But he is a_ ** _wolf_** _!:_ Silas insisted, resisting the urge to glare at the one he spoke of. _:You can take care of yourself against most, but a_ ** _wolf_** _is_ ** _dangerous_** _!_ ** _I_** _can't defend myself from a wolf, let alone myself_ ** _and_** _you!:_

_:Then don't let on that you know he is a wolf. He thinks you just a human, and he seems to care for the human you, and he can obviously see that you care for me, so if he hurt me he would have to know how much it would upset you, and he wouldn't want that. Use your human side to your advantage, and make him like you so that he won't risk hurting me.:_

Silas let out a somewhat shaky breath. This seemed like as good a plan as any. Shyam-Seff _did_ seem to care for the human, even though his senses told him not to trust the predator. For a brief moment he wished he was a constrictor, because then _he_ would be the predator. Then he dismissed the thought – no point wishing for something that would never happen.

But there was still Sirius and Shyam-Seff to worry about. They were still gazing at him worriedly, so he forced himself to relax his tensed posture and tried to remember how to say another word in English. All of this trying to remember how to speak was very hard.

"Sssaw…" he tried to remember how to say the next part. "Eee." That didn't sound right, did it? He tried again, closing his mouth more in the beginning. "Wee." That didn't sound right, either.

"Sorry?" Shyam-Seff asked, and Silas had to force himself not to instinctively tense again when he spoke. "Is that what you're trying to say – sorry?"

Silas had barely nodded when Remus went on, "It's alright, Harry – you don't have to apologize. We understand."

Sirius nodded in agreement. "We know it will take a while before you trust us, let alone other people, but we'll get there eventually, I promise."

After Silas had come back to the bed and Sirius and Shyam-Seff had sat down somewhat warily in the chairs once more, the two of them had proceeded to explain more about his studies as far as magic and English went. It appeared they didn't know exactly what else to talk about, and the one-sided conversation was awkward and stilted. Silas was relieved when they finally got up, saying that they would need to sort out some paperwork with Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic.

"We'll head home while the other students are at dinner," Sirius informed him, seemingly unable to resist a smile at the thought. "That way everyone's not gawking at you when we leave. We'll see you in a bit – we love you."

Silas blinked at these last words, echoed by the wolf a moment later before they left. For a moment he was stunned – these people who had just met him… _loved_ him? Even Sueva hadn't ever said that outright, though her dying words vaguely told him her feelings on the matter. Snakes didn't really express their love verbally – they showed it more through their actions. On one hand that was better, because actions were more reliable than words, but on the other it was sweet to be told, even though he didn't really know them. Still, they knew him, and they loved him. The thought was hard to wrap his head around.

But, even as hard as it was for him to understand and process the idea, he couldn't help the smile that came to his face as he remembered those words over and over again.


	6. Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm starting university in January, and I think that the thought of such a huge step commonly associated with growing up has me subconsciously wishing for my younger days. At least that's what I think a shrink would say. In any case, I've had a sudden desire the past couple of weeks to listen to the early Hannah Montana songs and watch movies like Wizards of Waverly Place, Princess Protection Program, Brother Bear, Nancy Drew…you get the idea. It's probably a good thing the next few chapters have been written already before this surgence (is that the right word?), or it would be full of lighthearted stuff like puppies and random fluff.  
> But Barbie movies I will always love, so luckily that's already part of my normal thoughts. We could've had a random ballerina thrown in here.

Harry spent the next half hour or so after Sirius and Shyam-Seff left sitting around in the bed, absolutely bored out of his mind. At one point he had decided to examine the many potions bottles in the cabinet in the center of the wall at the other end of the room – until Madam Pomfrey noticed and shooed him away. She explained that some of these potions could poison someone if they didn't actually have a problem. They were easily countered, she told him, but she wouldn't want him to go through any unnecessary pain in the meantime, should he decide to drink any.

Firstly, Silas snorted at the very idea – why on earth would he volunteer to drink the very same potions he had been so adamantly against since the moment he had been here? Secondly, _why_ was the cabinet so open and easily accessible to him if there was stuff inside that could hurt him? This was a school filled with human children – surely _some_ of them had tried to drink a potion unsupervised before. Silas shuddered in memory of the taste of those potions, and even worse what they did to him – made him vulnerable.

So, Harry obediently sat in the bed, swinging his feet and talking with Sadi until a bell rang outside, and about fifteen or twenty minutes later Hermione came into the wing. Silas immediately sat up straighter, glad to see a familiar and friendly face.

"Szsoo-ree!" he half-hissed and half-spoke the name he'd given her while he rose to his feet happily.

She stopped when she was in front of him. "I didn't know if you'd want to see me again," she said awkwardly. "But I told you I'd come, so…" she stopped, seeing that he was shaking his head and smiling at her reassuringly. Quirking a little smile, she paused before saying confusedly, "Zuri?"

Silas nodded happily, but she didn't understand, so he patted her chest. "Szsoo-ree," he announced.

For some reason, a hurt and sad look crossed her face. "No, Silas, I'm Hermione."

Silas shook his head – she still didn't understand. He knew that everyone else called her Hermione, and that was her official name, but snakes gave people names that suited them better - it was tradition. Zuri suited her better than Hermione did, so that's what he would call her, and that was that.

He patted her again. "Szsoo-ree," he repeated. She tried to hide her saddened expression and began to pull away, but he grabbed her arm to stop her. She looked at him, startled, but he used a finger to point toward Madam Pomfrey's office.

"Ssslaaine," he said, looking at her pleadingly, hoping she would understand.

"Madam Pomfrey?" she said uncertainly. Silas nodded. "Do you need her?"

He shook his head frustratedly and repeated, "Ssslaaine."

"Madam Pomfrey…is Slaine?" Hermione said slowly. He nodded, and then she brightened. "You give other people names?" He nodded happily. "Why Slaine, though?"

Silas wondered how to communicate his thoughts to her. Slaine meant 'good health', and he'd named the older woman that when he saw how the woman had cared for Hermione, never mind that she was threatening to _him_. He spied the potion that would make him sleep sitting on the side table next to his bed, and picked it up to show Hermione.

"She's Slaine because of…Dreamless Sleep potion?" Hermione was very clearly confused. He shook his head and grabbed the other potion off of the table – the one that made him calm and apathetic.

"Oh! Is it because she's a nurse?" Hermione deduced after seeing the multiple potions that were supposedly to help people – namely, him, though to Silas that still remained debatable.

Silas considered. Her guess was as good an explanation as he would probably be able to communicate. So, he nodded the affirmative.

"So…do the names mean something, or do you just give them different names?" she questioned, sitting on the bed next to his. He nodded, not knowing how else to answer, and followed suit, sitting on his own bed. Really it was both of her answers combined that was correct – he, like all snakes, gave people different names – that meant something. It wasn't just random, after all. That would be plebian. And pointless.

"Oh. That actually makes a lot of sense. Why am I Zuri, though?"

Silas scrunched his eyebrows in thought. How could he tell her the meaning? No one had ever said the words he was looking for around him, so he wasn't sure how to move his lips and tongue to form the words. He could _try_ to show her of course, but he was fairly certain that anything he might try would be misconstrued into something else, and he certainly didn't want to disrespect or offend her by accident. Finally he just gave up and shook his head. He would have to learn how to speak more before he could tell her. But he promised himself that one day, he _would_ tell her, in as many words as he knew how.

She seemed to notice his frustration and said, "I suppose you don't know how to say it, then. That's alright – I can just go look up meanings of names in the library later."

He wasn't too happy about this, but there was really nothing he could do about it, so he just accepted it. He hadn't cared too much about learning to speak English when Sirius and Shyam-Seff were telling him he would, but after meeting Zuri, he wanted to be able to tell her exactly how amazing she was. He vowed to learn English-speaking as quickly as possible so that he could tell her that much sooner.

"Is Silas not your real name, then?" Hermione continued curiously.

Silas wasn't sure how to answer. On one hand, it was not the name he'd been given at birth and was now expected to go by, but on the other, it was the one he'd known and gone by as far back as he could remember. So in a way, Silas _was_ his real name – he just had another one that humans called him. Like a nickname. Finally he settled for a tilt of his head back and forth, sort of a cross between a nod and a shake of his head.

Hermione was bewildered, and asked, "Is it your snake name, or something?"

It was as good an explanation as any, so he nodded hesitantly.

"Well, then, you must have a name other people are supposed to call you – school teachers and such," Hermione went on. "Can you say that?"

Silas knew this one. Sirius and Shyam-Seff had explained a lot to him in their time of awkward one-sided conversation. He'd been told all about who he was and what had happened to him when he was a baby. He had learned of Voldemort and how he had been targeted as a baby, and how his parents, Lily and James, had given up their lives to protect him. He'd been told everything about the mistake of having a traitor as their Secret Keeper, and how he had been placed on the front step of Lily's sister's house. (That had further solidified Silas' dislike of the Headmaster – even though snakes didn't care for their young, they would never leave their eggs in a place so dangerous, and wouldn't allow the hatchlings there, either. But the Headmaster had disposed of him on the front step with a _letter_ to explain to his mother's sister that she was dead and now had to care for her nephew. It just seemed unnecessarily heartless to him, and he had yet to figure out _why_ Dumbledore had thought it alright to leave him there like that.) In the chaos, no one had even known that he was missing until several hours later. Now, because of surviving something that no one else had, he was famous in the Wizarding World as Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. Because of that, they didn't want it getting out that he'd been found until he was safely away from prying eyes.

He remembered how Sirius had said his name, and tried to imitate it. It was certainly easier to remember than the other words – they had said it more often than the other words.

"Hhaaa – wwee," he said slowly, trying to get it right. The second part of his name was harder, but he still got it. "Moh – _Poh_ \- tter."

It took hardly a second for Hermione to understand him now, used to deducing what he'd tried to say and putting it into actual words. "Harry Potter?" she clarified just to be sure. "You're Harry Potter?"

Silas nodded, and she gave him a grin. "That's so cool! You're in books, you know. _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_ is one of them. But all the books always said that you'd gone missing right after…everything – but then…" she wrinkled an eyebrow in confused thought. "Where _have_ you been, then?" she asked finally. "You said you've been with your family, but you can only speak Parseltongue. What – is your family a bunch of snakes?" she said the last part jokingly, but at Silas' serious nod, her jaw dropped. "You can't be _serious_?" she gasped.

Silas simply nodded again, not understanding what the big deal was, and lifted Sadi. "Faa – mih – lee," he said slowly to get all the sounds right.

"Sadi is a part of your family?" Hermione said, her voice shocked. "How is it even _possible_ that you could have lived with snakes for so long?"

Silas gave a little smile and got up off the bed, letting Sadi slither off his arm to the mattress. He checked to make sure that Slaine was safely in her office before he shrunk and lost his limbs, turning green and black and becoming a 40-inch snake coiled up on the ground.

Hermione gave a shocked gasp when she saw him change and rose to her feet. "That's amazing!" she breathed. "It takes years and years to attain the Animagus transformation, but for you to have done it when you were just a year old…and it must have been accidental magic that allowed you to do it. That's the most amazing case I've ever heard – you must be very powerful to have achieved it when you were so young. I know Professor McGonagall said that it took her almost ten years, and she's just a cat, but…" She trailed off and knelt in front of him to stare at him, wide-eyed. "Wow, you're a boomslang, too! You're even more vibrant than all of the pictures I've seen – you're really very handsome. I'll have to check and see if that's because of your magic, or perhaps just a coincidence. There are so many things that could have influenced what you became – it's just _fascinating_." She pulled back and stood up and he transformed back, sporting a somewhat goofy smile. She grinned at him in amazement.

"Wow," she breathed. "Living with snakes your whole life… _as_ a snake…does anyone else know?"

He dropped his smile and shook his head quickly, putting his fingers over her lips to signal silence. She looked startled and then smiled reassuringly at him.

"So it's a secret," she said, patting his arm. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." He gave her a relieved smile at these words.

"Well, that means you have to learn _everything_ ," she said in sudden amazed sympathy. "At least you can walk, though it _does_ look a bit awkward, if you don't mind my saying so. Then speaking – thankfully you can already understand English, at least, so it's just using your mouth and tongue and learning new movements – and even just basic human interaction. I know snakes are very different even in just their interactions with each other. Then you have to read, of course, and _write_ , and then just eating food with utensils, as well as basic manners – gosh, even setting the table will be new. _Eating_ at a table will be new. Then of course eating in general must be very strange, because snakes don't chew…" She stopped abruptly when she saw the look on his face. "I'm sorry. I'm probably overwhelming you with all of this. I didn't mean to." He smiled wryly at her to show her that he held her no ill will.

"I bet it was the cold that did it," she suddenly declared. He looked at her questioningly, lost at her somewhat random and sudden train of thought. "Turning into a snake, I mean, rather than another animal. You were on the doorstep for several hours at least, at night at the beginning of November - it said _that_ in the books, at least - so going off of that theory, a one-year-old must have been _freezing_ , because even a warming charm only lasts a few hours, and it's fairly common sense that a smaller body would have a harder time staying warm. So, you probably woke up cold in the middle of the night, and your accidental magic went to the extremes - to say the least - to make sure you were warm and didn't get sick or even die. Boomslangs are a magical type of snake – or at least are more magical than other common snakes, because their skin is used in some potions..."

She was cut off by his angry hiss, and she didn't have to know Parseltongue to understand what he was getting at.

"Oh, the boomslangs aren't _killed_ , Silas," she said quickly. "Usually people who sell to apothecaries have a bunch of boomslangs in their houses and just take the skins that they shed. It's mostly from those ones that apothecaries buy them so we can use it in potions, although I'm sure there have been people who have killed them before for it." He had a heartbroken look on his face when she said this, and she suddenly realized that she wasn't being very sensitive.

"I'm sorry, Silas," she said quietly, looking at her lap. "Sometimes I just say things without thinking. I didn't mean to make you upset."

She looked up when he patted her folded hands, and saw he was giving her a forgiving smile, though sadness still lingered in his eyes while he held Sadi close to his chest, as though to protect her from prospective boomslang killers. After a moment, he nodded, signaling to continue her explanation of what she'd deduced.

Hesitantly at first, she continued, "Well...since boomslangs are magical, they have a higher proclivity for being able to retain the heat they collect in the day, and some have thought that they even had an instinct on how to find the closest heat. So, with your magic wanting to warm you but not knowing how, it turned you into the thing that _could_ know how - a boomslang. Then of course, you were so young at the time that after a while you forgot about being human and fully submerged into the thought that you were a snake. So of course it would be logical not to be able to speak English, because even though you have the mouth for it now, it's not how you learned to truly speak for the first time. Regardless of whether you would have been able to speak Parseltongue now or whether you learned it just because you were a snake for so long, Parseltongue is your first real language. Although you do seem very easily able to understand English, so perhaps you became a snake rather than another animal because you were _already_ a Parselmouth. I'll have to research that to be certain, but the idea is really very simple."

As Zuri had continued with her explanation, he grew more and more certain that she was correct. He was curious whether he had been a Parselmouth from birth or not, but he was certain that Zuri would be able to find out. He was however, still sad at the thought of all of the snakes - boomslangs - that must have been killed for potions ingredients. He _really_ hoped that the potions that Slaine had given him didn't have boomslang skin in them. Although boomslangs could be cannibals, he hadn't ever thought he could do such a thing to a fellow snake even when he thought he _was_ just a snake.

After Hermione had voiced her thoughts, Silas had smiled at her, seeming to congratulate her, but he still looked upset about her explanation on boomslangs and their use in potions. She hadn't _meant_ to upset him, truly - she just seemed to forget things sometimes, such as the fact that talking about the deaths of who he probably considered friends might make him sad. She felt stupid and regretful about it, so she talked about other stuff to try and take Silas' mind off of it. It worked for the most part, and she enjoyed his company for a good hour before two men walked into the infirmary. One of the men had dark hair and a handsome face, and the other man had a scar running diagonally across his entire face. It looked like it had been a rather bad slash at some point.

She saw how Silas' face instantly closed off when the two men entered. She hadn't realized how open he had been with her until his expression shuttered completely closed at the sight of the older men. She simultaneously felt flattered that he would trust her and curious as to why he didn't trust the people who seemed to know and care for him. She could see the concern and love for her new friend from both men, so it seemed to be a problem that Silas had with them, and not the other way around.

"Hello," the man with black hair greeted her, coming over. The scarred man followed a couple of steps behind him. "Who are you?" He said it not unkindly, but simply inquisitive.

Before she could answer, she felt Silas' hand take hold of her arm and pull her back a step. Protectively, she realized.

Then she saw that Silas was trying to speak, trying to remember how to sound out the words.

But it was just one word, spoken slowly enough that there was no doubt what he was trying to say. "Fuhh…ren…td." He nodded to Hermione and repeated, "Fuh-ren-d."

Friend. When Hermione heard this she couldn't help turning to give him a brilliant smile. She'd never had a friend before, and while she had known that he liked and trusted her somewhat, she was touched that he was already calling her a friend. She had to resist the urge to throw her arms around him and turned instead to look at the two older men, still grinning.

The men looked happy, if a bit surprised. "Well, it's wonderful that you've made a friend so quickly," the man with the scar said to Silas, then turned to talk to Hermione. "Perhaps we can work out something with Professor Dumbledore so that you can come and visit Harry - er, Silas, that is - during the school year." The dark-haired man nodded in agreement.

Hermione was surprised and saddened at the same time by these words. She turned to Silas as he let go of her arm. "You're leaving?" He nodded with an unhappy expression, practically _glaring_ at the two men.

"We're going to get him caught up on everything," the man with the scar explained, and she turned to look at him as he continued, "If all goes well, he will be able to come to Hogwarts for his Second Year."

"So you guys are teaching him, then?" Hermione asked. They nodded, and she said, "So…pardon my asking, but - who are you?"

The man with the scar jumped a bit. "Oh, please forgive my manners. This is Sirius Black – he's Harry's godfather and official guardian. I'm Remus Lupin; I'm…well, an honorary uncle of sorts." He smiled a bit as though fondly remembering something amusing.

"Pleased to meet you," Hermione said primly. "My name's Hermione Granger. Silas calls me Zuri, though."

For some reason, this caused Remus to smile to himself, though Sirius looked bewildered. "Why?" was all he asked.

"Well," Hermione said, "He said that people give each other names that just don't suit them or don't make sense – snakes do it so that it actually connects to them and better suits them. He named Madam Pomfrey 'Slaine' because it has something to do with her being the nurse. I'm not sure _exactly_ what it means, though," she admitted. "I'm going to go to the library at dinner time to go check."

"Ah, a Mini Moony," Sirius said, nodding sagely. Hermione didn't know what he meant, so he nodded to Remus. "That's Moony. He's married to books. But on the side, he's cheating with the library. _And_ the bookstore." Remus just sighed and rolled his eyes at him, but said nothing. It seemed like a constant ribbing between them, one Remus had just given up on by now.

"Well, I should get going then," Hermione said with an amused smile. "It's almost dinner time, and you probably want to get Silas' stuff together to leave." She turned to say good-bye to Silas, but finally couldn't resist anymore and gave him a big hug. Sirius and Remus stepped away to talk with Madam Pomfrey and to leave them alone for a bit.

Silas seemed startled at the hug, but he stood there awkwardly, neither accepting not rejecting it. Hermione didn't mind – he probably just didn't know what to do. Snakes didn't have arms to hug, after all, so it wouldn't have ever been something he'd learned.

Pulling back, she said, "I'll write to you. Maybe in pictures, so you can understand it. And I'll make sure that Dumbledore lets me come visit some time – maybe over Christmas too, if that's alright with you and your guardians." Silas nodded that it was perfectly alright with him, though it was fairly clear that he didn't know what she was talking about. Oh, well. Sirius and Remus would be sure to explain Christmas to him some time soon. It _was_ only a month away, after all.

"Well…I'll see you, then," Hermione said, picking up her book bag from where she'd dropped it on the bed and beginning to walk away.

Abruptly Silas grabbed her arm, and she turned to look at him in surprise. His expression was wide-eyed, intense, and focused, if not with a bit of fear.

"Silas?" she said in surprise. She'd never seen him so serious before. Not that she'd known him very long, but the point was the same. He looked like…well, like a wild animal – hunted.

He shook his head and put a single finger on her lips to signal her to be quiet. Then, using the same finger, he pointed in the direction of Madam Pomfrey's office, where they could see Sirius and Remus in the open door. Hermione turned to look at them and then back at him, confused and concerned.

 _:Shyam-Seff,:_ Silas hissed quietly, eyes burning as his gaze looked toward the office, and then back at her to see if she'd understood.

"Sy-am Seth?" she questioned, unable to pick up the subtle pronunciations as he spoke too quickly.

Silas shook his head quickly and spoke more clearly, closer to English. "Ssshy-am – Sefff."

"Shyam-Seff?" she tried again. He nodded, but she still didn't understand what he was trying to say.

He patted his chest and said, "Sssigh-less," then patted her chest and said, "Szsoo-ree." He moved to stand next to her and only slightly behind while he pointed to the office. "Ssslaaine…Ssseer-ee-usss…Ssshy-am – Sefff." He looked back at her.

"Oh! Mr. Lupin is Shyam-Seff," she deduced. He nodded and his gaze grew more intense and pleading while she tried to figure out what he wanted. "…Do you want me to look up what Shyam-Seff means, too?" she asked him after a pause. He nodded quickly and pulled away a bit as the three came out of Madam Pomfrey's office.

"Alright…" she said a bit uncertainly.

"Ssshy-am – Sefff," he seemed to remind her just before the other three came back into hearing range.

She nodded to him as she began walking away. "I will, Silas. I'll see you."

As she made her way to the library for some research that suddenly seemed much more important after Silas' request, she couldn't seem to get his hunted, green-eyed gaze out of her mind, no matter how hard she tried.


	7. Research

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone upset about anything in the overall plot of this fic: get over it. My story. I'm writing it how I envision it. Which isn't to say you can't fact-check me, but going out of your way to send me a long PM about ways that this could have been done better is pushing the point of ridiculousness. Give me ideas, I'm good. But don't tell me that I shouldn't have done something because your idea is so much better than mine. If you know exactly how to write the perfect Harry Potter story and feel the need to point out every reason why mine isn't it, do us all a favor and write the damn thing. (I'm always looking for a new story to read. ;p)  
> On that note, I do appreciate every single review I get and I read all of them. I'm willing to answer questions or points of clarification, be it personally or in the A/N before the next chapter.  
> In accordance with that - an answer to some people's questions: Harry isn't placidly accepting that he'll stay with Remus and Sirius just because I need him there. He fully intended on leaving as soon as he was left alone long enough, but he was afraid of being knocked out again if he tried to get away while they were all there. When he was alone, he knew there were other people outside the door that could get to him. He was just biding his time.  
> And then Hermione showed up. And suddenly he had a reason to stay – he wanted to help her, and stop her from being bullied at school again. The only way to do that is to go with Sirius and Remus to learn everything he needs to.

Hermione hardly ate dinner at all that night - she wanted to hurry so that she could get to the library. She couldn't forget Silas' expression and widened eyes when he'd told her what he called Mr. Lupin - it was much more important than the other names, she could tell. And he'd known that she was going to look up what Slaine meant during dinner time, and taking the special effort to tell her Mr. Lupin's name gave the impression that it was serious. So the only logical conclusion was that he wanted her to know what "Shyam-Seff" meant as soon as she could.

Ignoring her housemates eating around her, she vaguely wondered why Silas had not renamed Mr. Black as well. Everyone he spoke of had been given a new name, but...perhaps Mr. Black's first name - Sirius - actually suited him? She _had_ noticed that all the names made an 's' sound, so perhaps that was part of it? But she knew that Sirius was the name of a star in the Canis Major constellation - the brightest star in the sky, in fact - but she didn't think that Silas would know that. She didn't suppose that snakes knew much about astronomy, but then she'd been surprised before.

She hurried to the library as soon as she'd finished a chicken sandwich and a serving of baked carrots. She was also curious to find out what her own name - Zuri - meant. She wondered why Silas' name was the only somewhat normal name she'd heard so far. Sadi, Slaine, Sirius, Shyam-Seff...they were all names that someone might find in a baby name book of sorts - but one of those books that only had the translations of words and made those words a name - like an ancient language. After all, a regularly used language might not recognize someone's name as a name if it was a word they could find in their regular dictionary.

It took a while to find what she was looking for in the library, but Madam Pince had long since stopped looking at her suspiciously when she browsed the books for a long time. The librarian seemed to have gotten used to her coming in there at all hours, but she was quiet and respectful, so she seemed to have gained her trust as far as the books were concerned. Hermione wondered if the old woman had picked up on the fact that she actually didn't _have_ any friends, so it was doubtful that she would ever be shouting in the library with them and disrupting the peaceful environment.

No, Hermione stopped her thoughts with a smile. She _did_ have a friend now - Silas was her friend. He'd said so, and he'd tried so hard to speak enough to be understood, when even she could see how awkward English was to him. Even though she did most of the talking, he and his snake - who was really more of a sister than a pet, of course - had accepted her fully and completely.

That was part of the reason why she tried to only think of him as Silas. Even if it wasn't the name on his birth certificate, it was his name. He'd introduced himself as Silas because that was who he thought of himself as. She knew that Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin tried to call him Silas - she had picked up on that much - but really they still thought of him as Harry Potter, and that was what their minds instinctively went to when they spoke to him. Not that it was because of his fame as the Boy-Who-Lived, but because they had known him as a baby, and were best friends with his parents. They had thought of her friend as Harry probably since his mother had told them what she planned to name her son when she was pregnant. That would make it probably about eleven and a half years, so obviously a new name thrown at them so suddenly would be rather hard to swallow. She supposed that they would get used to calling him Silas with time, but she didn't think that her new friend would be able to open up to them until they did.

And honestly, she couldn't blame him. If they seemed unable to accept the name he went by, how could he know whether or not they would accept him for who he was outside of his name? She would bet that that was largely the reason he hadn't told anyone but her about his Animagus abilities - she had accepted him from the very beginning, although if she was honest with herself she would have made friends with the Giant Squid if he had talked with her. Not that it was anything particularly new, but she had been very lonely at school, and any sign of friendship would have been accepted, raised by snakes or no. And it was fairly clear that Silas needed an ally of sorts that was human – from his perspective, if he couldn't communicate with people normally, it gave them room to walk over him. Not intentionally of course, but if they misunderstood something or lost their patience when they couldn't understand him, there was really nothing Silas could do about it, and a mediator would help tremendously, especially if the mediator was his friend. She wasn't sure her thoughts were making a whole lot of sense, but she knew that she would always be firmly on Silas' side in the face of any trouble. She owed _that_ to him at the very least.

Hermione suddenly felt enormously glad that she hadn't made friends with anyone at school - if she had, she might not have been in the Hospital Wing that day and never could have made friends with Silas. And, just like she'd thought before, it seemed that he needed human friends very much, because he couldn't trust the humans he'd come across thus far. And for good reason - all of them were trying to make him conform to what _people_ did and dismissing what he'd gone through, rather than finding an in-between where he might still be happy with snakes but that they could see him and communicate with him, too. It seemed to Hermione that everyone was expecting Silas to just _forget_ about how he'd been raised and simply go along with what was expected for people. But she knew that it wouldn't be that simple. She could already see how stubborn her new friend was, and she knew that his learning with his new guardians was not going to be easy for either side.

While she could see Silas' struggle however, she also tried to look at it from Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin's perspectives. Both of them had known Silas as a baby, and after the Potters had died, he was supposed to have gone to Mr. Black, Silas' godfather. But, there had been an awful lot of confusion that night and he'd been put on the doorstep of his aunt and uncle, where he'd then seemingly disappeared without a trace. She could definitely understand if they were angry with Dumbledore for leaving Silas there in the middle of the night - and in the cold of November. Honestly she was a bit indignant about that herself, and her firm belief in all authority figures had been shaken quite a bit. And then Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin - the only people left who had truly cared for _Harry_ and not this Boy-Who-Lived nonsense - hadn't seen or heard a single trace of the boy they loved, for an entire _ten years_. And then for him to show up out of the blue with a snake on his arm and only able to speak a language no one could understand and was typically seen as the sign of a Dark wizard (though Hermione knew that to be utter nonsense) and then insisting he was Silas and not Harry and then openly distrusting them...well, she could understand how it could be hard for them. She had seen the pain but also firm love and acceptance in both men's eyes when they looked at Silas, and they both had the air of someone who was suddenly reminded that there was indeed a life worth living. Really they just needed to get used to the changes in Silas - they had already accepted them. Even if Silas himself couldn't see it yet, she could see how much they loved and adored him. She had seen the same looks on her aunt and uncle after her aunt had given birth to twins a couple of years before.

She opened the large book she'd pulled from the shelf called _The Self-Updating Compendium of Names and Their Meanings_ , and first made her way to the 'z' section. She was enormously curious to find out what "Zuri" meant after Silas' attitude towards her compared to everyone else. She was sure that it was something nice, based on how he acted around her and toward her, but when she finally located its meaning, her jaw dropped and tears sprang to her eyes. She read the meaning over and over again, unable to believe what she was seeing.

 _Beautiful?_ She thought distantly, absolutely shell-shocked. **_Me_** _?_

She knew what her peers thought about her - she'd been made fun of enough not only for her smarts but also for her appearance. She knew her hair was very bushy and it was hard for her to maintain it in some semblance of order. Honestly she didn't really know what to do about it - her mother and father didn't have her hair; she got it from her grandmother, who had died before she could even remember her. Her mother didn't know what to do about it, so usually she braided it for her for school, but Hermione got frustrated every time she tried to do it for herself, so she had mostly given up here. It wasn't as though she could impress anyone, anyway.

But other people had bushy hair too, so that wasn't a point of teasing so much as the one thing she hated most about herself. Her teeth.

It was very ironic that the daughter of two dentists would have such very large two front teeth. She had been called a beaver enough times in grade school that she had once tearfully pleaded with her parents to just remove them and give her false teeth that were of a more normal size. Her mother had said that she was still growing, and her baby teeth weren't all lost yet, so she didn't want to do anything that might be detrimental to her entire mouth. However, her father had gone on to promise her that they would talk when she was fourteen or fifteen, and see about cosmetic changes then. She had agreed reluctantly - not that there was anything else that she could do - but she was still very self-conscious about her large teeth, and tried to smile as little as possible - and if she slipped, to smile with her mouth closed.

Surely, she thought, surely her large teeth combined with her bushy hair made her possibly the ugliest girl she knew, and Silas couldn't _possibly_ have named her something that meant "beautiful".

But there it was, plain as day in the book, simple and short and completely unable to be misinterpreted or misconstrued.

_Zuri is a name of African origins, specifically from the Swahili Coast, meaning "beautiful"._

She sat there with tears streaming from her eyes as the implications of this hit her. For all that she hated about how she looked, Silas not only thought her beautiful, but thought her beautiful enough that that was the name that he gave her - as though the name "beautiful" encompassed her and described her completely. He hadn't named her something that meant "bushy hair" or "big teeth" or even something kinder like "smart" that she thought might have suited her better. He had seen past what everyone else in her life besides perhaps her parents thought about her and named her something that showed he thought of her in very high regard. Never before had she felt so accepted by _anyone_.

She sat there for several minutes grinning to herself and trying to pull herself back together and regain some measure of composure. Finally she turned back to the book and turned to the 's' section.

First she discovered that Sadi meant a lucky or fortunate one. She wondered what the story behind that name was, remembering how only names that had a meaning were given among snakes. She wondered what made the young boomslang so lucky to merit her name. She would have to remember to find out.

She didn't find out anything new about Sirius, although she was reminded that Sirius was also called the Dog Star, so she wondered if perhaps that had something to do with it. It did suggest in the footnotes that the name seemed to have a sense of fun about it, although the reason for it didn't actually have any historical meaning. But perhaps that was why Silas just kept it.

She found that she was right about Madam Pomfrey's name and that it was in fact because she was a nurse, although the exact meaning was "good health". She wondered why Silas had decided to name her that, however - she had been able to pick up that he didn't trust the nurse or the potions she fed him, so why he wouldn't name her something like "attacker" or "dangerous" was beyond her.

She found herself amused when she discovered that Silas meant "forest dweller". It really was perfect, as he had lived in the forest with the other snakes as long as he could remember. She wondered briefly if he had named himself or if someone else had when he had shown up.

Finally she went to find Shyam-Seff, but when she got to the proper page, she could only find Shyam. She supposed that Silas may have combined two names and looked to the meaning of Shyam first.

_A name of Indian origin, Shyam means "dark", and was typically used as a pet's name rather than a person's, coming about in the late fourteenth century._

Okay... Hermione didn't know what to think about that as she flipped a few pages back to "Seff". Mr. Lupin wasn't dark-skinned or even dark-haired. He was probably one of the lightest people she had ever seen. He was rather pale, besides the scars that stood out vividly, but the contrast only further showed how pale he was. His hair was a dirty blond with streaks of grey in it, and even his eyes were an amber-gold color. She thought it would be more suited for Mr. Black to be called "dark" – he had black hair and while his skin was light, it wasn't nearly as sickly pale as Mr. Lupin's. Heck, even his last name suggested "dark" better than everything about Mr. Lupin.

Drawing her finger down the page was looking for, she stopped near the bottom and read the single-worded description of Seff: "wolf."

She didn't particularly care why there wasn't the origin or the usage in the description; she had already put the literal meaning together in her head and was now trying to figure out why Silas thought it so important.

_"Dark Wolf"? What does that even mean? I might have understood it if it had been Mr. Black's name - what with the dark hair and all, and his laugh sounds kind of like a dog bark. But Mr. Lupin was really pale and honestly sick-looking, so he's like the opposite of dark. Although Silas doesn't seem to be naming based on appearances – well, except for me. But the explanation for that remains to be revealed. ...So why would someone's personality be labeled as "dark wolf"? Or perhaps his identity... Madam Pomfrey is named for her identity as a nurse, and Sadi for being lucky... So how would Mr. Lupin's identity be a "dark wolf"?_

She turned these thoughts over in her head for several minutes, coming up with several ideas and then tossing them out in the next moment as ridiculous or implausible.

_...He nodded to Remus. "That's Moony."..._

Hermione frowned a bit to herself. Moony - what an odd thing to call someone. You only gave someone a nickname if it meant something, and Moony seemed to be a very well-established nickname for the tired-looking man.

_The other man had a scar running diagonally across his entire face. It looked like it had been a rather bad slash at some point._

Hermione's eyes widened rather suddenly as her jaw dropped, the dots suddenly connecting in her head. The small clues that seemed insignificant on their own suddenly combined to paint a very clear picture for what Silas was trying to tell her.

Moony.

Vivid scar.

Dark Wolf.

_What wolf is considered Dark?_

Werewolf.

...

Hermione didn't go to sleep that night. She pretended to leave the library at closing time, but for the first time in her life she broke the rules and went back an hour later under cover of darkness. She knew that after her discovery, she would never be able to go to sleep, not knowing whether or not Silas was safe with Mr. Lupin. Already she was fiercely loyal to her new friend, and if she discovered that it was unsafe to be with Lupin, she would get Silas out of there at the earliest opportunity.

But, she didn't know much about werewolves, so she didn't want to go running in like an avenging angel if she was wrong. Thus the reason for her time spent researching in the library the entire night through.

She found several books on the subject – more than she had even expected. At first she was excited and very glad that there was so much information on the subject, but then she actually got to reading them and she was disgusted. All she read were accounts of werewolf attacks, or werewolf trials and deaths. One book she found was about killing a werewolf and how to prepare its pelt, like werewolf skin rugs were a high commodity. Honestly it all seemed very biased against werewolves, and after finding a book describing in excruciating detail how to hunt and kill a werewolf cub, she threw it away in loathing. She didn't think these people seemed to realize that these werewolf "cubs" were _children_. That was one thing that had been constant – they only changed at the full moon. The rest of the information was vague and mostly speculation – one book suggested that they were just regular people the rest of the month, but most books insisted that even in human form, werewolves were incredibly dangerous. They didn't cite the exact danger however, so Hermione was inclined to believe that the one book was right. And if that was the case, then hunting werewolf cubs meant they were hunting children, and _that_ was just _despicable_.

She wasn't so sure about adult werewolves, however. Obviously they were dangerous during the full moon, because they completely lost their human mind and reasoning – but what about the other twenty-seven days of the month? Would Silas be safe alone with Mr. Lupin during his tutoring? One book out of the fifty-something she had found couldn't be used as an accurate guide as the opinion was in so little minority, no matter how much it made sense or how little proof of facts the majority of the books had.

She couldn't find anything to assuage her worries in these books, but she had a thought in the early hours of the morning that Remus Lupin was friends with Sirius Black and James Potter – he must have gone to school with them, or around the same time. He would probably be in the yearbooks. After doing some quick math in her head, she went and grabbed all of the Hogwarts yearbooks from 1967 through 1979. She didn't know the exact ages of Silas/Harry's parents, but she knew that he was born in July of 1980, so it couldn't have been too much beforehand that they had graduated – she knew that they had been young parents.

She found several pictures of four boys starting in 1971 – the captions read them as James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin. Forgetting werewolves for a moment, she had to stop and stare at several of these pictures – they all seemed so…innocent. Even knowing that Pettigrew would betray them, she couldn't see it in any of the photos. They truly were best friends. There was even a picture of Lily Evans and Severus Snape in their first year – she was surprised at that, that they could be best friends. She had only ever heard nice things about the redhead, and Professor Snape was as different from her as night and day.

She did notice a picture in their fourth year of the four boys playing a prank on Snape, but he seemed more angry than jovial at the prank. Seeing Snape's hate for the four, she wondered how he would react to Silas. After all, Silas was practically a carbon copy of his father, sans the glasses.

She pushed it from her mind however, when she finally got to the yearbook from 1978. There were several more pictures of people she recognized in this year, as this was the year that they graduated and the focus was on them this time. She smiled at their class pictures, but it was the "Most Likely" and "Superlatives" page that caught her eye most.

It seemed a bit redundant to put James Potter and Lily Evans under "Most Likely to Get Married" as well as "Best Couple", but she shrugged it off. She laughed a bit at Sirius Black's "Most Likely to Get Arrested For Something Stupid", and noticed that Lily Evans got "Best Hair" for the girls. All four of the boys were put under "Most Mischievous", and someone had written 'Marauders rule!' next to it in the margins. She found that Remus Lupin got "Most Studious" as well as "Most Likely to Succeed". It seemed that the school still didn't know that he was a werewolf, because she knew from her reading how shunned werewolves were and how difficult it was for them to find work. If they had known about his lycanthropy, they would have known that he was about the _least_ likely to succeed. Sad, but true.

She sighed and closed the yearbooks. She couldn't pick up whether or not Mr. Lupin's three friends had known about him being a werewolf or not from the pictures. She thought that they might, because Mr. Lupin's teenage self had appeared very comfortable with them, and that could only come from complete and utter trust. But, she didn't know him or how she thought, so she couldn't be sure. And she didn't know how to go about finding out without revealing that she knew about him. She might have thought that it was safe because Dumbledore wouldn't have let a werewolf come to school without the proper precautions, but her confidence in the old man was rather shaky after having learned that he'd dumped a one-year-old on a Muggle's front porch in the middle of the cold night without even leaving someone to make sure that the boy was alright. She had to admit to herself that she didn't really know _what_ he was capable of.

Sighing again and rubbing her eyes, she checked her watch and saw that it was almost six o' clock in the morning. She knew that she wouldn't be able to get any sleep before she had to get up anyway for breakfast and classes, so she decided to try getting a Restorative Draught from Madam Pomfrey. Putting the books away, she crept quietly back out of the library and vowed to return as soon as she could to find answers for Silas. They had to be there somewhere.


	8. Breakfast

**BOY-WHO-LIVED FOUND IN FORBIDDEN FOREST!**

By Rita Skeeter

_We may all remember Halloween of 1981 as the night You-Know-Who was vanquished in Godric's Hollow. We all know of the heroic efforts of James and Lily Potter, and how they died to protect their son Harry, who then defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named by rebounding the Killing Curse back and leaving him with the famous scar. We all know of how just weeks after, the Wizarding World received the news that our Boy-Who-Lived had disappeared._

_Many remember the searching that continued throughout the next several years for our saviour, all coming up with fruitless results. We cannot forget how the poor child's godfather, one Sirius Black, Head of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black, went mad with grief when little Harry Potter's case was declared cold and the little tot was presumed dead. Just less than a month ago was the tenth anniversary of You-Know-Who's demise, and the Wizarding World celebrated his death as well as mourned the presumed dead saviour._

_However, just three nights ago, dear Readers, two students wandering in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts found a dirty boy in the Forest, completely alone. They soon discovered that he was none other than our very own Boy-Who-Lived! And he has certainly lived again, against all odds. He was brought back to Hogwarts, where he was immediately placed under the care of the powerful Headmaster Albus Dumbledore and the formidable nurse everyone remembers from their school days, Madam Popi Pomphrey. His return was kept a tight secret up to his release from the Hospital Wing, where he departed by way of the Headmaster's Floo with his godfather Sirius Black and friend Remis Lupine. A student coming back from dinner happened to see the trio on their way to the Headmaster's, and immediately recognized the Potter boy._

_"Yeah, he had the scar and everything," the third year, Kenneth Towler said when questioned. "He was walking sort of funny, but his hair was moved away from his face so you could see his scar really easy and I knew it was him. I went to get my friend Roger, but when I got back they had already gone."_

_And that's all the confirmation we need, but when questioned why he would try and keep Harry Potter's return a secret, Albus Dumbledore had this to say:_

_"Mr. Potter has been through a great deal these past ten years, and he hadn't any idea of even his real name until he arrived. I didn't believe it prudent for him to become even more overwhelmed by any well-wishers who may decide to visit. As of now he has gone home with his guardians, and may return to Hogwarts for his second year of schooling, as it is already well into this year and would be quite difficult if not impossible for him to catch up with the rest of his peers. I ask that everyone leaves him alone for the time being - he will make his appearance when he is ready."_

_I personally am quivering with excitement for when that time comes - when he reappears to us once more, so that we can truly see for ourselves that he is alright. Me, Myself, and I will be eagerly anticipating when we might see him again, and I shall keep you, dear Readers, updated as the news comes in!_

_PETTIGREW AND BLACK: THE MIX-UP THAT WOULD MEAN EVERYTHING - page 3_

_BOY-WHO-LIVED: WHAT REALLY HAPPENED THAT NIGHT? - page 5_

_THE BIG DEBATE: SHOULD MAGICALS BE FORCED TO LIVE WITH MUGGLES? - page 6_

"Why do you even bother reading that tosh?"

Remus looked up over the top of the paper at Sirius when the dark-haired man came stumbling blearily into the kitchen, making his way immediately to the pot of coffee Remus had already made and left sitting on the counter.

"I like to keep myself updated as much as I can," Remus said mildly, folding up the paper and reaching for his own mug of coffee sitting next to him on the table.

"Meh," Sirius rolled his eyes while he grabbed a mug from the cupboard and poured himself his own coffee. "The Daily Prophet is full of nothing but a bunch of morons who would be better suited writing cheap romance novels."

"Mm," Remus hummed in placid agreement and sipped his coffee. "I'm fairly decent at seeing through the sensationalism to the real news underneath, however. You just lack the patience." Before Sirius could protest this statement, he went on, "Everyone knows about Harry being back now, though. That warranted the front page, of course."

"Of course," Sirius sighed and rolled his eyes. "I knew when we saw that kid in the hall yesterday that it'd be discovered he's back, but I didn't think it would be the very next _morning_ that it came out. Guess the infamous Hogwarts rumor mill extends to the newspaper as well. Never mind that he's an eleven-year-old _child_. No, he's the Boy-Who-Lived - he must not care about having no personal life." His tone was mocking and sarcastic, but he sighed and took a bracing gulp of his coffee. "What's the shit they're saying this time?"

"Well, it's definitely not Skeeter's usual drivel," Remus said with a shrug, leaving the paper on the table while Sirius sat in the chair next to him. "It's all rather fairly accurate - I think she's only spelled my name and Madam Pomfrey's name wrong this time. A definite improvement, to be sure."

"Hm," Sirius said noncommittally, drinking more of his coffee and coming over to sit beside Remus at the table. "Have you seen Harry up yet?" Whenever he talked about Harry, he got a pleased look on his face, and Remus was happy to see him looking so content for the first time in ten years. Sirius had always blamed himself more than anyone else when Harry had gone missing – his mentality was that if he'd told Dumbledore about the switch in Secret Keepers, Dumbledore wouldn't have even _thought_ about sending the boy to live with his aunt and uncle, as Sirius was his godfather. Remus could understand, but he was enormously glad that Harry was back to bring some joy back to their lives.

"No," Remus answered his question. "But it's almost eight-thirty - I'm sure he'll be up soon."

When they had come home the previous night, they had shown the child his new room, though Remus couldn't say for certain whether or not he was pleased with it. Harry had gazed about the room with a rather blank expression on his face that betrayed nothing for how he felt, but he hadn't seemed to be upset, so it was the best they could do.

Remus was sure that Sirius had been more excited to show Harry the room than Harry was to receive it. And for good reason, too - ever since they'd got the house shortly after that fateful Halloween, Sirius had decorated and redecorated the room as time went on, presumably so that it could be ready as soon as Harry came back. Remus had realized rather early on that Sirius would never accept that there was a high likelihood of never finding his godson. At first it had been frightening with his voracity and insistence that he'd be found any day now, but then it was just sad as Sirius had clung to his seemingly vain hopes of getting the child back.

And as Harry aged, the room aged with him, going from the baby blue of his toddler years to the cute, cartoon-like dragons of his young childhood and just recently to Gryffindor colors and Quidditch.

Sirius had practically tripped over his words in eagerness when he'd told Harry that his room could be redecorated however he liked, but the boy hadn't said anything in response. Remus was sure however that at some point the decorations would change - most likely when Harry could talk more clearly and express himself in a way that they could understand. He had been rather quiet the night before, not even trying to speak to them in Parseltongue.

Honestly Remus had been a little uneasy at first about his surrogate nephew only speaking Parseltongue. It was sort of eerie and no matter what he said it sounded somehow sinister to his ears. But he supposed that that was just his imagination, because Harry certainly wasn't _Dark_ , as most would say he had the mark of a Dark wizard with his Parseltongue abilities. He was just glad that _that_ hadn't made its way to the newspaper, though he supposed it was only a matter of time. Also, it would be very hypocritical of him to push Harry away because of his "Dark" powers; after all, Remus was considered even Darker than him because of what he became every month, but that didn't say anything about him personally. He was positive that, past the fact that he was raised by snakes, he would turn out to be a very normal boy.

He was looking forward to teaching the boy, and even more to just living with him. Hopefully it would help in developing a bond between them, though he knew it would take a while, based on the distrust in him that he could see the child didn't even try to hide.

"We'll need to go grocery shopping soon," Remus suddenly remembered. "We certainly don't have enough here to sustain two men and a child - and no, we _cannot_ have sauce over noodles every night, especially with a growing boy here. We need some protein and dairy to build up his muscles and bones. Fruits and vegetables wouldn't go amiss, either."

Sirius sighed at the last comment but said, "I've taken care of the basics already - I sent out an owl order last night for milk, eggs, bread, cheese, chicken breast, and a couple of beef chubs. It should be delivered some time before noon."

Remus nodded approvingly to this and said, "I'll need to get some more coffee beans, since we're running low and you insist on coffee every morning over tea." He lifted his mug to his lips and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "Are you even a real Brit?"

"Hey!" Sirius protested. "I can't help but notice that _you_ now hold a cup of coffee in your hands and not tea! It's not just me!"

"Mm," Remus said with a smirk, lowering his mug back to the table. "But I've already had my wake-up tea. I just made the coffee for the stronger flavor. Plus," he added, "I knew you'd be up soon and whining about waiting for your coffee to brew so I just went ahead and made it for you."

"I don't _whine_!" Sirius protested, which was really his way of saying thank you. "And if you made the coffee for me, then how _dare_ you steal a cup!"

Remus sighed and rolled his eyes with the air of someone much older than his thirty-one years of age. "It's not as though you're extremely lacking," he reminded him. "And better to drink it than let it cool and go to waste." With a shrug, he lifted his mug again and drained the last of his coffee, and stood up to wash it at the sink.

Remus almost jerked in surprise when he saw that Harry was standing at the counter, and was now holding the pot of coffee that held a little less than one serving in it now. Sadi was curled placidly about his wrist, seemingly tired, probably having just woken up, but Harry looked bright-eyed, like he'd been awake for a while now, even though his hair was still a mess. But even more than that was that Harry was completely naked - and acting as though it was perfectly normal.

"Harry!" He said in startled surprise, quickly averting his gaze. The boy looked up at him while Sirius turned quickly around and then looked immediately away, discovering as Remus had his state of undress. "What happened to your pajamas?"

"Yeah, mate, you can't be going around starkers," Sirius chuckled amusedly and summoned Harry's pants with a wave of his wand.

Harry let out an annoyed hiss when he saw the sleep pants appear in Sirius' hands and took a step back as though to avoid them.

"Come on, pup, you need to have at least _something_ to cover your privates," Sirius said with a sort of smirking smile and squatted down, holding one of the holes for the legs open in front of Harry's foot. "Foot up."

Silas let out something like a whine and took another step back to avoid the clothing. Remembering how humans said no, he shook his head rapidly back and forth, not wanting to feel constricted by itchy fabric again.

"Sorry, mate," Sirius said, and he did sound truly apologetic, "This one is non-negotiable. Foot up – that's it. Whoops – balance on the counter or my shoulders, whichever works best for you. Other foot – there we go."

Pulling the elastic waistband up to Harry's waist, he rose from his squat and had to smile when he saw the pouting scowl on his godson's face. Impulsively, he bent his head back down and kissed the top of the boy's tangled mop of hair. Harry seemed startled when he pulled away, but Sirius paid it no mind.

"Now that that's out of the way – we didn't even hear you come in. Did you sleep well?"

Harry looked at him reproachfully – likely still sore for forcing him to wear the pants – but said nothing, and turned his gaze back down to the coffee pot he still held in his hands. He turned the pot in his hands, and it took Remus a moment to realize that he was trying to figure out how to drink from it.

"I don't think coffee is for young boys," Remus said with a little laugh, setting his mug in the sink and reaching to take the pot. "How about I make you some tea instead?"

Harry jerked his arms away from Remus' reach, and he stopped short in surprise at the fiery glare that the boy gave him. He hissed something loudly and rather angrily, and while Remus didn't know exactly what it was that he'd said, his tone seemed to be saying something along the lines of - _I'm not a_ ** _child_** _!_

Remus blinked, but before he could say anything, the boy had tipped the coffee pot so that the spout was to his mouth, pouring the coffee directly in. Remus could only be thankful that it had been sitting long enough that it wasn't going to burn his mouth when he drank it - he was sure that _that_ wouldn't go over too well with the still learning boy.

After filling his mouth with the strong drink, Harry pulled the pot away and swallowed his mouthful in a few gulps. He smacked his tongue in his mouth a bit, testing the flavor, before setting the pot back onto the counter with an almost nauseous look.

Sirius chuckled. "He told you," he teased amusedly, and was answered with a dark look from Harry. Sirius just grinned back at him. "We have better food than that, anyway," he said, rising and going to the cold cupboard. "I can make you some bacon, if you'd like?" He suggested, browsing the shelves for something to eat. "Hm...we also have leftover takeout, but that's probably gone bad by now..." He opened the little white box, peered inside, and made a disgusted face before tossing it in the trash behind him. "Yep, that's bad," he confirmed. "We don't have a lot in the way of food right now, but I just ordered some so we should have more selection later. For now though, looks like bacon is our best option." He pulled out the bacon and turned away from the fridge to see Harry looking in bewilderment at the plastic housing the bacon strips. He had to remind himself that Harry wouldn't have been able to have bacon, having lived in the forest the majority of his life.

"I don't know what the norm has been as far as your diet so far," Sirius shrugged, going to the stove to turn it on. "So we'll just have to see through trial and error here to see what you like."

Sirius reached down into a cupboard to pull out a frying pan, so he didn't see the sudden look of remembrance that crossed Harry's face. He was startled when he straightened and Harry was right in front of him, looking at him with an intense look of concentration.

"Sss…ss-aw – ss-essh" he said, clearly trying to remember the sounds and how his mouth should form it.

But Sirius didn't understand, and looked at him in complete bewilderment. "Pardon?"

The boy looked frustrated, but he forged onward and tried again. "Sssaww - sseshge."

"Sausage?" Remus repeated behind him, and Sirius noticed the boy flinch, though he didn't know the reason for it. Harry turned and looked at Remus, while Remus continued, "Sausage? Is that what you're saying?"

Harry nodded quickly in affirmation and looked back at Sirius, as though he didn't want to look at Remus for too long.

"You like sausage?" Sirius guessed. Harry nodded quickly, a small smile coming to his face. Sirius chuckled, spirits brightened at the sight, and nodded, saying, "Alright, I'll be sure to buy some sausage when I get the other food. But how do you know you like them?"

Harry appeared to be struggling to figure out how to answer, so Sirius tried to help by guessing. "Do you just think you _might_ like it but don't know for sure?" Harry shook his head with a somewhat irritated expression on his face. "Have you seen it before and thought that it looked good and want to try it?" Harry shook his head again, irritation growing, but Sirius didn't know what other reason his godson could have for knowing what a sausage was, let alone enjoying it. _He_ hadn't even known what a sausage was until he was fourteen when Remus had introduced them to him, because sausage on buns were a Muggle food and Remus was the only one to have encountered it, having had a Muggle mother.

"Have you had sausage before?" Remus sounded as though he didn't believe his own words, but to their utter surprise, Harry nodded without hesitation.

"When?" Sirius asked, dumbfounded. Harry had given the impression that he had never been around people after that Halloween, so to have had a sausage before obviously suggested that he had in fact encountered people before, and for long enough that he even knew what it was that he was eating.

Harry clearly didn't know how to answer, but Sirius saw the familiar look cross Remus' face of an outlandish idea coming to his head.

"You weren't always in the Forbidden Forest, were you?" It was more a statement than a question – Remus already looked fairly certain of whatever idea he'd come up with this time. Harry shook his head in answer, and Remus continued, "So – did you find some campers, then? Are they the ones who gave you a sausage?"

Harry now looked enormously confused, though neither of the two older men could begin to guess why. They looked at each other and back at Harry.

This time it was Sirius who said, "Why the confusion, pup?"

They didn't know that Sirius' nickname had only succeeded in confusing the boy further, but for the moment Harry pushed it out of his mind and tried repeating the word Remus had used that he didn't understand.

"Guh – gam – perss?" he tried. It didn't sound right, but Remus understood enough.

"Campers?" he repeated just to be sure. At Harry's nod, he continued, "You don't know what campers are?" Harry shook his head, still looking confused.

Remus looked at Sirius, and then tried explaining, "Well, they just leave their houses for a bit and usually go into the forest. Typically they go hunting or hiking in the day, and there's usually a campfire at night, and then they go to sleep in their tents."

Tents! Harry remembered that word – that was their den that didn't protect them enough. He remembered how the wind had caused the walls to bend and move along with it. He was still incredulous that the humans could even think that that flimsy thing would help protect them.

Remus saw the recognition cross Harry's face and repeated his earlier question. "Did some campers give you a sausage?"

Harry nodded, but this only seemed to make Sirius angry. "And they didn't even think that it was odd for a naked child in the woods to come up to them for a sausage?" he said incredulously. "Why didn't they _call_ someone?!"

Harry shook his head vigorously, looking nervous at the older man's anger. Seeing this, Remus put a hand on Sirius' elbow to get him to calm down.

"Let's not worry about that right now, shall we?" he suggested mildly. He turned to Harry and said, "Well, we'll be sure to get some sausages for you, but for now we'll just go with bacon, alright?"

Harry nodded, and he stood by the counter, watching as Sirius opened the bacon package and put it in the pan. Remus went to sit back at the table, and the two older men made meaningless conversation, trying to draw Harry in as well as they could. When Sirius moved away from the stove to get a grill press for the bacon, Harry went to the package that still had a few pieces left and pulled one out with his fingers. Then, before Remus or Sirius, who had just turned back toward the stove, could say anything, he lifted the strip to his mouth and took a bite out of it.

"Don't eat that!" Remus exclaimed, jumping to his feet. Harry jumped, startled and with a bit of fear. Remus gentled his voice and said, "The raw meat will make you sick – you'll regret it later if you don't wait for it to be cooked."

The boy looked about to argue with him, but the snake – Sadi – lifted her head from his arm and hissed something at him, causing him to reluctantly subside. He spit the half-chewed bacon into his hand and dropped it in the sink, then gave the rest of the strip to Sadi after rolling it up for easier consumption.

"It tastes better when it's cooked anyway," Sirius said in an attempt to lighten the mood. "You'll see – when it's mostly black and burnt is my favorite way of eating it. Moony, however, likes it still floppy-ish, so we'll see what you like."

Remus tuned out the rest of Sirius' chatter and sat back down at the table. He sighed heavily mentally, it only just beginning to hit him that the integration of Harry back into human society and behavior was going to be a lot more difficult than he'd first thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's a bit shorter than normal...I'm just barely under the 4000 word mark. However, I can assure you that the next several chapters are over 5000 words - it's just the spacing for this one that was a bit odd.  
> As always, thanks for reading!


	9. Learning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for everyone's support! It's always a pleasure seeing a review notification in my inbox, as well as all of the favorites and follows. Most appreciated are words of encouragement and/or specifics of what you liked most and want to see more, etc – so thank you to anyone who shared that!  
> I hope you all had a good Christmas, and Happy New Year also, seeing as most people are at parties and with family right now so you won't read it until after the new year has started…anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter!

" _Pee_."

"Bb-ee."

"Go softer with your lips, more like closing your mouth while letting out the sound - you're very close. _Pee_."

"Mmee."

Silas was very frustrated trying to get his mouth to form the right words - he thought his mouth was forming the right way, but it never sounded quite how it was supposed to. Even he could appreciate how patient Shyam-Seff was when teaching him, though he was very nervous around the wolf. Sirius had gone out grocery shopping, leaving the so-called perfect opportunity for him to start his speech lessons with Shyam-Seff. It made him antsy, knowing that right now, the man could get away with anything. It made him all the more eager to learn his alphabet quickly and get away. It had been four days since he had come to live with the two men, and Sirius had taught Transfiguration and Charms so far, while two days before, Shyam-Seff had taught him how to say letters A through M. Today he had repeated what he'd learned before moving on to the next half. He had learned N and O so far, but there was still at least an hour before Sirius was expected to get home.

"A bit harder than that, Ha-Silas," he acted as though the slip-up hadn't happened, but Silas felt all the more frustrated for it. " _Pee_."

"Bpee."

"Try it again, one more time," the man said encouragingly. Silas just sighed, rolled his eyes, and complied.

"Ppee."

"Good! Excellent, now - _kew_."

"Coo."

"Very close, Silas - it's like kee-you, but very quickly. _Kew_."

"Kuh-oo."

Silas wondered if Zuri had figured out what Shyam-Seff meant yet. He hadn't heard from her, but he knew how smart she was, so he was pretty positive she knew by now. He wondered how she would communicate with him, seeing as he didn't know how to read. (Shyam-Seff had told him that after learning how to say the alphabet, he would move on to reading the alphabet and then phonics of letters strung together. After he had learnt that, he would begin reading. Only Sadi knew how much it bothered him to only just be learning what humans would typically learn at four or five years old.)

" _Are_."

"Arh-oo."

"Purse your bottom lip out a bit more, and it's just one syllable. _Are_."

She had said that she would try drawing him pictures so that he could understand it, so perhaps that was what was taking her so long to respond to the newly revealed threat. Although, he didn't know if he would truly be able to interpret the pictures how she meant them. He wondered if there was a way that he might be able to visit her at her school, or for her to come here.

"Arre."

"Good! Now - _ess_."

_:Esss.:_

"Close, Silas," Shyam-Seff chuckled. "But that was Parseltongue, so it's hissing more than it is saying the letter 's'. Try again - _ess_."

There was just no pleasing him. Still, this one was easier than every other letter he'd had to learn.

"Esss."

It was a longer 's' sound than the English language strictly called for, but the other man either didn't notice or didn't care.

"Very good - that one was rather quick, wasn't it? Now - _tee_."

He knew that it was December right now - December second, to be exact. It had been odd to learn that humans separated their years by months - snakes did it by season, so the time separation of each year had tripled from what he knew it as. He was still confused that even each of these separations had a different number of days in them that had no rhyme or reason as far as he could tell, but he knew that it would be seventeen more days before Zuri's school let out for holiday. He didn't quite understand Christmas from what Sirius and Remus had tried to explain to him the day before, but from what he could gather it was a time for eating a lot of food and giving each other presents. He didn't understand the concept of gifts, having never received any himself, and he was further confused that a special time was set aside for good food. Why didn't humans have good food _all_ the time? Why subject themselves to sub-par food on other days, and what made this "Christmas" so special to deserve special food? He suspected that he didn't know the whole story, but he didn't know how to ask.

" _You_."

"Hoo."

"Press the back part of your tongue close to the roof of your mouth, near your throat, and try again. _You_."

With Christmas however, Zuri wouldn't be busy with schoolwork, which meant that she might be able to visit him. He was glad of it - even though he'd had only Sadi for company for the entire Spring, Summer, and the majority of Fall, and even still had her with him in addition to Sirius and Shyam-Seff, he felt very lonely. He had expressed as much to Sadi the night before after having gone to bed, and she had told him simply that it was because of him being practically forced into a new and unfamiliar place, and was expected to learn something completely new and foreign by total strangers, at least to him.

" _Vee_."

"Ffee."

"Now, bite your bottom lip a bit more when you say it - your teeth aren't just touching your lip, but pressing into it. _Vee_."

Really, Silas could have fought a lot harder to get away from the humans and go back to the forest. But, if he was being honest with himself - and he saw no reason to lie when he knew the truth anyway and he would only be hurt by denying it - he wanted to stay. Not so much because of the people caring for him - and he used those words lightly - but because Sirius and Shyam-Seff had known his parents, and more specifically his mother. He didn't know how to tell the two that he'd rather hear about his mother though, so most of their stories were about his father, as they'd known him longer. Which wasn't to say he was unhappy about those stories - no, they were very amusing, even if he didn't understand several of the words or references that they used. But he didn't know how to think of a father figure - snakes didn't really have parents at all, and if anything, it was the female who might have maternal instincts to her hatchlings. So he didn't really know what a father was. He couldn't really wish for a connection with a father, because he'd honestly never thought about it before. But a mother - yes, he knew how to compare her. He had seen Sueva as a mother, even if she didn't see him the same way, so he knew exactly the kind of love he was missing without his mother. And he couldn't understand why a father would be necessary beyond procreation if it was just another parent.

"Now, this one will be a bit harder - you're combining a few letters' sounds together, but you've already learned these letters so it should be fairly simple. _Double-you._ "

Perhaps a mother and father acted a bit like Sirius and Shyam-Seff - like a team for raising their child or children, evening each other out and acting as a balance for each other. Whenever Sirius got too excited or agitated, Shyam-Seff was able to talk him down to a much more manageable level. Whenever Shyam-Seff was reading or cleaning too much, Sirius pulled him into conversation and had him laughing - or at least smiling - in minutes. Silas had got the impression that he was cheering him up, though he didn't know why he would be sad.

"Duh-bull-you."

"Good, now say that first part a bit quicker - _double-you_."

"Double-you."

"Excellent! Now - _ecks_."

Also, he could see how lonely Zuri was because of being picked on and having no friends at school. He knew she was as grateful for his friendship as he was for hers, and he couldn't leave her alone after that. He was almost as protective of her as he was of Sadi, and he understood that he was expected to go to Hogwarts - her school - next Fall. That was a little less than a year away, so to be able to go there, he needed to be able to speak normally as well as read and write. To be able to be with Hermione more and to protect her from the bullies, he needed to learn as much about being human as he could. And the only way to do that without making anyone suspicious was to deal with Sirius and Shyam-Seff.

After he had finished to 'z' and then repeated all twenty-six letters together, he moved to the edge of his seat, waiting for the other man to tell him the lessons were over for the day so he could leave.

"Good – Silas," he caught himself just in time with a smile. "You're progressing very quickly, much faster than I had thought you might, to be perfectly honest. We can try the sounds like 'ch' and 'br' later. For now, as the lesson is over, I was wondering if you might join me in the library until Sirius comes home?"

Silas began to frown, sensing that there would be no reprieve from the wolf today. He also didn't understand why he would go to the library - that was where the books were, and considering that he couldn't read, he didn't understand the endeavor.

Then the thought struck him - what if the wolf was luring him there to finally attack him?!

Although he didn't understand why the living room wasn't suitable - not that he _wanted_ to be attacked, but they had been alone for the better part of an hour by now. If he wanted to attack him, why hadn't he done so yet? Perhaps the living room was too open. He knew that the library was at the back of the house, so maybe it was so Shyam-Seff would hear when Sirius came home and be able to hide him in time?

 _:Silas, calm down!:_ Sadi ordered from where she had previously been silent during the lesson on his wrist. _:He doesn't suspect you of anything - you don't have to worry!:_

 _:He's going to lead me to the library and attack me,:_ Silas hissed agitatedly, scooting back defensively in the chair.

"Silas?" Shyam-Seff said in what could have passed for concern but what Silas was fairly positive was an act. "Are you alright? I thought we might..."

But Silas couldn't take it anymore and jumped to his feet, startling the wolf into silence.

"Nn...no," Silas remembered how to say, shaking his head as though to emphasize his refusal. He didn't want to reveal that he was on to the wolf, lest he try to sneak up on him without warning next time, so he quickly thought of an excuse. "Dtie - erdt. Sss - llleep."

It wasn't the best excuse he could come up with and was really rather flimsy, but he didn't know or particularly care if the wolf believed it. He just needed to get out – to get away.

He didn't notice the tired man gazing after him in heartbroken sorrow as he practically ran from the room.

...

When Sirius got home from grocery shopping, he wasn't too surprised to find the house silent. Harry was a very quiet boy, mostly because he couldn't speak English and obviously didn't see the point in talking to them when they couldn't understand. Remus had always been rather quiet, but he might have thought that his friend would try and connect with Harry - Silas, he reminded himself - while he wasn't there.

However, after putting away the groceries in his arms, he went to the living room and was surprised to find Remus sitting on the couch, staring into the empty fireplace and holding a half-full glass of Firewhiskey in one hand.

"Moony?" He said cautiously. Remus didn't often drink - when he did, he was either very upset or very celebratory, but he wouldn't have thought that he would drink with a child in the house. He was the responsible one, after all.

Remus acknowledged him with a grunt, but that was all, and that was when Sirius realized that this was...well... _serious_. He crossed the room and seated himself in the chair across from him. He eyed the glass and finally said, "How much have you had?"

Remus gave him a _Look_ and answered, "Only a glass. I'm contemplating if I really want to drink a second."

Sirius didn't know what to do, so after a _very_ long pause, he said, "You don't."

The silence stretched for another long several moments, and Sirius was beginning to think he'd convinced him when Remus finally contradicted, "I _do_." And he knocked back the glass in a couple of gulps.

"Remus, what's going on?" Sirius demanded, rather sternly, but Remus didn't even flinch at the tone.

"Harry," he said slowly, staring at his empty glass, "Is terrified of me."

"Why? What did you do?" Sirius was rather confused at the turn the conversation had taken. He didn't know what could possibly have happened in the hour and a half he was gone that would make Harry scared of one of his primary caregivers, but for Remus to be driven to drinking, it had to be pretty ghastly.

But Remus was shaking his head slowly. "Nothing. I haven't done _anything_ , but he's been scared of me ever since he first laid eyes on me."

Sirius shook his head in response and said, "I'm sure you're just imagining - "

" _No_ , Sirius," Remus snapped. "This is real. I can _smell_ it on him - he's always so scared around me, _especially_ when you aren't there. Hell, it's so obvious I would notice it even if I didn't have werewolf-heightened senses." He reached for the bottle of Firewhiskey to pour himself another glass.

"Maybe," Sirius answered, still doubtful. "But it's probably just because he's been with snakes so long - it's not like he's chummy with _me_ , either."

Truthfully, the knowledge that his godson didn't trust him hurt him more than he was willing to admit. He hadn't really fully believed the Headmaster's words before in his office - he had thought that the man was exaggerating his experience with him in the Hospital Wing, or that because he was his godfather he would _somehow_ have an innate trust and love for him - that somehow, he would remember him from before and they could easily pick right back up as a loving family.

But it hadn't been like that. Harry had already found a family - and among snakes, no less. _Real_ snakes, not Slytherins, which might have been easier to swallow. And he didn't seem to have any need or want for people in his life. He had cowered away from them, and it had been the snake he had with him who had calmed him back down, not him - not like he used to be able to do when Harry was a baby. When Harry was a baby, Sirius was frequently the only one who could quiet him, even more than Lily or James. It hurt that that role had been passed to someone else. Not that he wanted Harry to not have anyone to trust or calm him down, but the fact that Harry had shifted so dramatically from trusting him fully and completely to being jittery and nervous around him made him feel like he'd been repeatedly punched in the gut.

But Remus was still shaking his head. "He distrusts people as a whole," he corrected. "But in addition to that distrust, I seem to possess the ability to send him into a fit of terror if I so much as look at him." He took a gulp of his Firewhiskey.

But Sirius was still doubtful. "Moony," he tried.

Remus cut him off. " _No_. I'm _not_ imagining this. Merlin, Sirius - do you think I _want_ the boy I see as my own cub to be so scared of me? I've tried denying it this entire time, but I can't miss the way he flinches every time I get too close, or how he stares wide-eyed at me every time I speak like he's expecting me to jump him in a second. Just earlier, after lessons, I tried inviting him to the library - I thought I might pull out a few old photo albums and show him his parents. We've told him a lot of stories after all, but I don't think he's seen any pictures besides what we have on the mantel. I wanted him to be a bit more comfortable with me, because I knew he was _nervous_ , but..." He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "He was so scared," he whispered brokenly. "He made up some excuse about being tired and just... _ran_ out of here. He couldn't get away from me fast enough." He shook his head and took another drink from his glass, pain etched in every line of his face.

Sirius sat back in his chair at his best friend's words. Honestly he hadn't noticed, but if he thought about it, he supposed Harry always gravitated to him when the two were in the room. And, thinking back, Harry had bolted away from them in the Hospital Wing after _Remus_ had tried to touch him. He couldn't recall ever seeing Harry allow Remus to hug him, either, although when Sirius tried hugging him he only tensed rather than not-so-casually easing away. He wondered if perhaps Remus was right.

"Well," Sirius fumbled for words. "He'll see soon enough, won't he?" He tried cheering his friend. "You're the nicest guy around, and pretty soon he'll be able to see it too. I mean, _I'm_ more dangerous than _you_ are!"

"I think he knows," Remus said suddenly, looking up at his friend.

"Knows?" Sirius was confused. "Knows what?"

Remus only gave him that _Look_ , and Sirius suddenly understood. "About your furry little problem? How in the _world_ would he know?"

"Well, he's lived with snakes for so long," Remus tried explaining. "He must have some snake instincts, and animals are always better at sensing what I am at first sight - or scent, as the case may be."

Sirius scoffed. "Remus, I think that alcohol has addled your brain," he informed him. "He may have been raised by snakes, but he's not _actually_ a snake. There's no way he would have that same sixth sense that animals do, and therefore no way to know about you. Don't be so paranoid."

"But he does smell different," Remus wouldn't let go of his idea. "From before. His smell changed, like your guys' did after you became Animagi."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "His smell changed because he grew up," he told him. "It's been ten years, and he was a _baby_. Of course he smells different. Babies smell like shampoo and baby powder, and occasionally poop and half-masticated food."

"That's not what I meant," Remus said tiredly.

"You're imagining it, Moony," Sirius insisted. "There's literally no way he could know about your furry little problem."

"Then what other reason would he have to be afraid of me?" Remus said in a defeated voice.

"I don't know," Sirius said, and tried cheering him up with jokes. "It's probably your obsession with cardigans. I have to admit, it is rather frightening, and I wouldn't blame him if - " He ducked when a pillow was lobbed his way, but when he straightened, another one hit him in the face. He laughed and sent it sailing back at Remus before becoming serious again.

"Honestly, it can't be something too serious or he would be trying to get away," Sirius said. "So just stick to it and show him what a lovable guy you are. He'll trust you at some point."

Remus sighed. "I certainly hope so."

…

Silas had been alone in his room for only a few minutes, not knowing of the pain he was unintentionally causing to the man downstairs, when he heard an owl tapping on his window outside. He immediately jumped back, away from the window, and hissed instinctively – owls ate snakes, after all. Sadi shifted agitatedly on his arm, hissing in fear, but then he saw a red letter tied to its talons.

 _I'm a human,_ he reminded himself. _It's not going to attack me. This is how wizards communicate._

He kept up this mantra for several moments before looking down at Sadi and hissing gently, _:It's alright – I'll deal with it. I won't let it hurt you.:_

 _:Be careful, Silas!:_ Sadi hissed fearfully.

 _:I'll be okay,:_ he tried to assure himself as well as her. _:Here – get in my pocket, just in case.:_

Sadi obediently followed his instructions, and Silas was grateful for the convenient safe place that humans put in most of their trousers. He went warily to the window and cautiously opened it, then jumped back when the owl zipped into the room. It hooted and flew a lazy circle about the room before landing on the back of the desk chair and gazing at him with large yellow eyes. He stared at it for several moments before it ruffled its feathers impatiently and shifted on its makeshift perch. Not wanting to make it angry, he went cautiously forward and, with trembling fingers, untied the red envelope from around its outstretched leg.

As soon as the owl was freed, it stretched out its wings and soared back out the window with nary a glance back at him.

The letter began emitting some sort of smoke, startling Silas into dropping it to the ground. Sadi poked her head out of his pocket and peered down at it.

 _:Open it!:_ she urged. _:You don't want it to explode, do you?:_

 _:What if it explodes because I_ ** _do_** _open it?:_ Silas said uncertainly, bending down and picking up the envelope.

 _:Well, then you won't be any worse off than you are now!:_ she exclaimed. _:Look - it's smoking because of all the pressure inside - you don't want the pressure to build up more, do you?:_

 _:I suppose not,:_ Silas answered reluctantly, and slid his finger underneath the flap to open it.

As soon as the seal was broken, the envelope rose up in his hands and shifted and folded to form something like a face. startled, he took a step back, and was further surprised when a voice - Zuri's voice - came out of it.

 _"Hi, Silas!"_ Her voice greeted. _"Sorry if the owl scared you a bit - I tried choosing the friendliest one in the Owlery, but I suppose it doesn't help much because owls are predators to snakes and considering...well, I hope you weren't too startled. It was the only way I could send the letter. And you don't have to worry about anyone possibly overhearing this - I found some charms so that only you would be able to hear it. That's a lot of the reason this has taken so long, but I also had to find how to make a Howler that wouldn't scream at you and shake the walls down. That's just an expression, in case you didn't know. That's what this letter is called, is a Howler - they're used primarily to berate someone, and it's really loud and awfully embarrassing, if the other students' reactions to getting them at breakfast is anything to go by._

_"Anyway, I looked up what Shyam-Seff meant, and I figured out fairly quickly that he's a werewolf, but I also went and did additional research to find out...well, if it was safe for you to be living with one. I figured that's what you wanted me to do, anyway. If you just wanted me to know that he's a werewolf, well...I know now. But I thought I might do some research, just to be sure. After all, you have a snake's instincts right now, and your instincts probably told you to flee from the owl, but I knew that it wasn't going to hurt you because I have human instincts. So I thought that maybe that's what the same attitude with werewolves was - I just had to be sure._

_"As far as I can tell, you should be perfectly safe with Mr. Lupin. I mean, most of the books told me that werewolves were dangerous all the time, even in their human forms, but after seeing instructions on killing werewolf 'cubs', I pretty much took that with a grain of salt. Oh, you probably didn't understand that reference either - that means I didn't put too much stock in it. I mean, werewolf cubs just means they're children, so I didn't appreciate the books saying that the children should be hunted and killed._

_"There was one book that said that werewolves were just normal people every other day of the month, but since that was just one book, I couldn't completely trust that one either, so I figured I'd look through the yearbooks from when your parents were in school, and tried to figure out if your dad and Mr. Black knew during school. All I figured out was that the rest of the school didn't have any idea, but I don't know what to think about Dumbledore letting a werewolf go to Hogwarts - he hasn't exactly had the best interest in mind for you so far, has he?_

_"I'm sorry. That was awfully insensitive._

_"So... Um...I ended up going to McGonagall to see what she thought, and she told me that she knew a werewolf - I'm guessing she was talking about Mr. Lupin - and that he was the kindest man she had ever known, and the only time he's dangerous is during the full moon. No one knows about my knowing about you, see, because they're just all focused on the news that the 'Boy-Who-Lived' is back and not who he might have encountered. It's really very amusing - but they wouldn't believe me if I told them you were my friend, anyway, so I haven't bothered to tell them. I also figured that you wouldn't want too much attention focused on you - I mean, you've been used to a quiet, unknown life so far, so..._

_"Anyway, I asked some other teachers also, like Professor Flitwick and the groundskeeper, Hagrid, and they all said the same thing - that werewolves are just normal people every other day of the month, but when they are vicious, it's because they're searching for humans - not animals. Werewolves don't act like normal wolves - their only instincts are to infect others as werewolves, or kill people. They're actually very docile around other animals, so an Animagus could theoretically hold the werewolf back from hurting itself - because if werewolves can't find human prey, they turn on themselves, because they can sense the human inside of them and want to destroy that. So, the only time you should be concerned is on the night of the full moon when you're in your human form. Also, I looked it up, and that's not till the twenty-first, almost three weeks away, so until then, you should be perfectly safe._

_"I hope I helped some - sorry if I went on too long. I hope to see you soon!"_

At these parting words, the 'Howler' shredded itself to little pieces and fell to the floor at his feet.

Silas sat on the end of the bed, Sadi remaining quiet in his pocket to allow him to think.

Could it be true? Could he actually be safe from the wolf the majority of the time? Like Zuri had said, werewolves weren't like normal wolves. They should be okay around animals, because their nature was to attack _humans_. He had never known that humans had a natural predator - he had always thought that they were at the very top, because they could kill every other animal so easily. But werewolves were magical, so they would have more defenses than another wolf. It would make it harder for humans to hurt or kill them.

So Shyam-Seff wouldn't want to attack him - or more importantly, Sadi - because they were snakes. He would only want to attack him on one night, when he was changed, because he was _human_.

The idea was hard to process. As much as he thought he could trust Zuri, he wasn't completely positive that she was correct. How could a wolf not want to attack a snake? It seemed only natural.

But werewolves were different. They were magic.

He rubbed his face with his hands and flopped backwards on the bed. He felt Sadi slither out of his pocket and up next to his face, but he didn't look at her.

 _:Are you alright, Silas?:_ she questioned him.

He sighed and looked down at her to see the concern on her face. _:I don't know, Sadi,:_ he admitted. _:I guess I'm just...confused. Nothing makes sense with humans. What's dangerous to us isn't to them, and what isn't to us, is to them. Everything seems so backward, and I can't talk to them so they can understand, and it's just...really scary.:_

 _:You'll get used to it,:_ Sadi tried to comfort him.

 _:How do you know that?:_ Silas snapped, sitting up suddenly. _:You're not the one who has to learn all of this stuff, who has to hide just how scared you are around everyone, who has to somehow 'get used to' every single odd little thing that humans seem to find normal! It's_ ** _not_** _normal!:_

 _:Silas...:_ she let out something like a sigh. _:I understand, I really do. I know that it's hard, but...well, you have to remember that this is your life now. You're a human who can sometimes turn into a snake, and that's okay. But there's no going back to living like a snake. You need to get used to this life now. After a little while, it will become normal, and you may even enjoy it. There's absolutely_ ** _nothing_** _wrong with that. But you need to put forth_ ** _something_** _. I understand about Shyam-Seff, and how you were wary before. But, you've also pushed Sirius away. You have to remember, they're like your parents now. They're the ones taking care of you. But for you to have_ ** _any_** _sort of relationship with them,_ ** _you_** _have to want it._ ** _You_** _have to put forth the effort to get to know them just as they have been trying with you the past few days. They probably don't want to just talk about your parents all the time - that would be the same as you only telling me stories about Sueva. Think about how much it hurts them. Try and let them know who_ ** _you_** _are, because_ ** _you're_** _the one they're caring for. And now that you know that Shyam-Seff isn't going to hurt or attack either of us, you can let them know that you're a snake, too.:_

 _:Sadi!:_ Silas hissed in shock, but Sadi didn't let him speak.

_:I'm not saying you have to tell them immediately. That would be rash. But get to know them more so that you can trust them a bit better. They clearly want to know_ **_you_ ** _. They're just having a hard time because you've been lost to them for ten years. They don't know how to act.:_

Silas let out a breath, still stunned by her words. But as much as he disliked her advice, he knew she was right. That was one thing he could count on about his sister - she could always give him exactly what he needed, but in a kind way and without keeping anything important to herself.

Rubbing his eyes, he looked down at her. _:You're right,:_ he admitted. _:I won't say it won't be hard, but...I'll try.:_

Sadi let out a pleased hiss and settled back down in his front pocket. _:That's all I ask.:_


	10. Wondering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't going to post today, but then I was awake and thought why not. I reached 200 favorites with the last chapter! Yay! XD  
> Sorry to anyone who feels this is going to slowly - I promise it picks up in the next couple of chapters!  
> WARNING for this chapter: Christmas is explained to Harry in quite frank terms – that is, with a lot of talk of Jesus Christ. I am sorry if this offends you – I don't feel it comes off as preachy, but I was simply trying to explain the etymology and history of it, so obviously Jesus Christ comes into play. I mean no offense to anyone and I'm not trying to target anyone's beliefs with the explanation.

Over the next couple of weeks, Silas learned things even more rapidly than he had before, as he was no longer so terrified in the wolf's presence. Oh, he was still a bit leery of him, as he couldn't get rid of his natural snake instincts, but it was nowhere near the terror he'd been in in the first few days before he'd received Zuri's letter. After the nervousness had receded somewhat, Silas could concentrate more fully on his lessons, and he learned at a pace that seemed to surprise and delight Sirius and Shyam-Seff.

He hadn't told them of his abilities yet of course, but he did try and make an effort not to run off to his room at the soonest possible moment. He even sat next to Shyam-Seff in the library for a good hour as he looked through a photo album with pictures of his parents. His mother had been very pretty, and his father looked much like him, though he could spot several differences, the most noticeable one being his eyes - those were his mother's, and unlike his father's, his eyes were not obscured by glasses. (He remembered Slaine telling him that he didn't need glasses, as he seemed to have inherited his perfect vision from his mother.*)

Meanwhile, Remus was just happy that Harry's terror around him seemed to have reduced dramatically. He could still sense some nervousness, but it was about the same level he had when around Sirius, so he didn't think it was him personally anymore. He was still uncertain as to why exactly Harry had been so scared the first few days however, and what had changed it. He could still smell that scent that reminded him of his friends' Animagus forms on Harry, but he did have to admit that Sirius' logic was sound that the boy was just that - a boy. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but he was too grateful that Harry had become more comfortable around him to worry and ponder on it too much.

However, he was also reminded several times a day that while Harry was a boy, he was also a boy who had literally no idea of basic human interactions and traditions. He had noticed very early on that hugging was foreign to Harry, as was the handling of silverware at meal times and the way to buttoning a shirt, but still he had to continually remind himself of the life he'd lived before being found. One such time was when the case of Christmas came up again.

They had gone over the basics very briefly the first couple of days when Harry had looked confused at the mention of "Christmas break" from Hogwarts, but now Harry could ask questions more, coming along quickly with sounding out his words correctly.

"Shyam-Seff," Remus looked up automatically at what he now recognized as his Harry-name. It had been difficult the first week or so when he didn't remember the odd name Harry had dubbed him, and the sibilant-sounding hisses were rather quiet. That was another thing - although Harry could speak some English now, he still had a strong hissing undertone to it. The best Remus could compare it to was an accent - like a French person speaking English, it wasn't pronounced _exactly_ right, but the words were still fairly clear and the language still understood.

Now Harry was holding a board book that was among the many Remus had bought to help Harry learn to read. This was one that had only few-letter words, with only one syllable for each word, and then a simple color drawing accompanying it.

Harry held up the board book and showed Remus the picture of a Christmas tree with five round red ornaments and a shining star at the top.

"T-ree," Harry said, stumbling over the word only slightly.

Remus nodded with a smile. "That's right, it's a Christmas tree. We'll be getting one of those ourselves next week."

Harry lowered the book to his lap and gazed earnestly at Remus. "Why - Chr-isss-masss?"

"Yes, it's for Christmas," Remus said unsurely, not sure what Harry was asking.

Harry's expression turned slightly frustrated and he corrected his words. " _Wh-ad_ Chr-isss-masss?"

Remus eyebrows rose. "What _is_ Christmas?" He clarified. Harry nodded, irritation lessening, so Remus answered, "Well, it's really a time to gather with family. It's celebrated with good food and fun."

But Harry's eyebrows only drew together in equal parts irritation and confusion. "Why?"

"Why do we gather with family?" Remus asked, not knowing where the boy's train of thought was leading him.

But Harry shook his head. "Why - ce-le-bper-ate?" He had to separate the sounds to remember all of the correct parts in their proper order. "Who - st-ar-ted it?"

"Who started Christmas?" Remus' eyebrows rose again and he sank back into his chair when Harry nodded in affirmation. "Well, that's a rather heavy topic, rife with controversy for several hundred years now, so I'll give you two versions and you can pick.

"There was a man who lived a few hundred years ago - a wizard - and his name was Nicholas," Remus started. "He lived in a rather small village, and when a famine struck, he knew that several of the poorer families would have a hard time keeping food on the table, especially during the winter season. He himself had plenty of money, but he also didn't want to boast about it. So, he helped where he could without being discovered, and back then there weren't any real locks on people's doors, so he could easily slip into someone's house and leave some things there while they slept.

"One night he discovered that a family had left their little ones' stockings to dry over the fireplace, and so he conjured a few simple toys and stuck them inside as a surprise for when they took them down, in addition to the food he'd left for everyone on the table.

"After that he went to people's house every year at what is now known as Christmas time, and left trinkets and toys and sweeties in the stockings - by then word had got around to leave your stockings hanging up there in December - and he left gifts and food for the parents on the kitchen table to help them in hard times. After that he became known as 'St. Nicholas', and that is where Santa Clause or Father Christmas comes from now. Now, parents act for their children as Santa Claus, who believe that he is a large, jolly man with a penchant for cookies and milk, and rides on a sleigh pulled by reindeer around the globe on Christmas Eve to deliver toys to all children who have been good in the year.

"However, while that certainly did happen, most believe that it was a tradition that came _after_ Christmas was created - St. Nicholas was alive in the third and fourth century after all, and a man named Jesus was born in what can really only be referred to as the year "zero" now - or perhaps "one". Christians believe that this Jesus was and is our Saviour, and this man was born in Bethlehem, prophesied to be their King. Because of this, many people - _important_ people like kings and rulers - wanted him dead, while still more worshipped him. There were wise men who brought him gifts upon his birth - although he would have been two or three by the time they found him - and it is said to be because of these gifts that we now exchange gifts at Christmas today. And, even though he was _technically_ born in the beginning of April, it's acknowledged and celebrated universally on December 25. The reasons for that are a whole other story altogether, though."

He shrugged as he finished his explanation. "Personally, although I am not religious myself, I am inclined to believe that Christmas came about because of this 'Jesus Christ' and the wise men - it is called _Christ_ mas after all, and has some of his title in the very name of it, and the story of St. Nicholas has nothing of the name in it. I believe that Nicholas felt generous then _because of_ the Christmas spirit. Nevertheless, the point of either is the same - family comes together, and because we don't indulge all the time, it only seems fitting to do it when we're all together, and we exchange gifts to show our appreciation for our family and friends."

Silas' brow was furrowed in thought at the receiving of all of this information. He was inclined to agree with the werewolf's opinion - it did make sense, the way he'd put it, but still there was that odd inclusion of family - that part didn't make sense.

"Why - fa-mih-ly?" He questioned.

"Why do families come together?" Remus clarified, pretty sure he was right this time. He was rewarded with a somewhat relieved nod that he'd got it in one try.

Remus had to pause and think about it for a few moments. Now that he actually stopped to think about it, he wasn't sure why families got together. It was tradition - always had been, as far as he knew.

"I suppose it's just the spirit," he answered finally. "Christmas tends to put people in a very giving and happy mood, so I suppose it's natural to reach out to loved ones you don't normally see throughout the year."

This answer wasn't completely satisfying to Silas, but he supposed it was the best the other man could do. But now, looking back down at his book, he had another question.

"Why - Chr-isss-masss - t-ree?" He asked.

"Well, that one also comes back to Jesus Christ," Remus explained. "An evergreen tree is used as the tree, and evergreen trees are called such because even in winter, their pine needles are just as green as the summertime; they don't brown in the cold or fall off like most other trees and plants. This is supposed to symbolize how Jesus Christ is the life of the world, and it will never die out. The star on top symbolizes the belief of a new star appearing to tell of the birth of this man.

"There are many religious beliefs and symbolism surrounding Christmas," he continued. "I won't lie - I don't know all of them. But Christians celebrate it because of the birth of Christ, and most non-religious people celebrate it to be happy and be with family."

Silas didn't understand exactly why this "Jesus Christ" was of such import, but he didn't want to ask more questions about it. He was already confused enough as it was.

Remus gazed at Harry a few moments longer as the boy looked back down at his board book, before looking back to his own book. Sometimes Harry liked practicing alone, so he kept quiet while the child studied the words and mouthed them silently to himself. He could tell that he was still a bit lost with his explanation, but he didn't want to overwhelm him as he was just beginning to open up. Harry would ask questions as he was ready.

...

It was December twenty-first, the night of the full moon. Silas knew this, thanks to Zuri, although he would have known something was up regardless after how Sirius and Shyam-Seff had acted the past couple of days. He could sense the werewolf's antsiness as the day rolled on, and it made Sirius seem calm by comparison. It was rather odd for Silas to see the normally quiet man like this, and it put him slightly on edge, as he wasn't sure how to react to the change.

"Silas," Sirius pulled him aside in the late afternoon. "There was something I've been meaning to discuss with you. Come to the living room with me?"

Silas obediently followed the man, and sat down without being asked in the chair next to Shyam-Seff. The man was reading a book in his hands, though his leg was jiggling impatiently and his fingers tapped a rhythm against the book's cover. When the two came in, he put the book down and stopped jiggling his leg, though now he tapped the rhythm on his thigh with his fingertips. Sirius sat down in the chair across from Silas to see him better.

"I...have a condition," Shyam-Seff started after a pause wherein he and Sirius traded stares and blinks in wordless communication. He turned his head to look at him. "I've had it since I was a boy, and because of it, about once a month I am...dangerous. There's nothing to be done about it but lock myself away, but there is a possibility of breaking free and coming to harm you. I would not be in my right mind...and..."

"What he's trying to say," Sirius explained after Shyam-Seff had trailed off, "Is that this condition is going to cause him to be dangerous tonight, and that I can help him, but I'm afraid that it's very dangerous for you to be in the same house at the time..."

Something like pain struck Silas in his chest, making his chest tight and difficult to breathe. He didn't understand everything the two were trying to say, but what he did understand was that they were telling him that they wanted him to go away. He hadn't realized exactly how much he'd expected and appreciated their care until then, but now it felt like he was being shoved out of their lives because they couldn't deal with him anymore. The only reasoning he could think of for this was that he couldn't act human enough - but he'd tried! It had only been three weeks - surely they didn't expect him to learn everything about how to act and behave in such a short amount of time?!

Sirius stopped talking at the expression on his face, and after a long pause in which Silas tried to get his breath back under control, he was able to get out in stutters, "You - w-awn - mme - g-one?"

"Of _course_ not!" Sirius hastened to reassure him, looking shocked at the very idea. "You are going to stay in this house, with both of us, until you are too old to do so. And you're never too old. But, you'll probably get married at some point and move out then and have your own kids, and you probably wouldn't want to have all that with your uncles in the next room, plus it'd be very loud all the time with so many people..." He mused, and then shook himself and looked Silas in the eye. "No, you're not being sent away - the very idea is absurd. I meant that while you're in here for the night, I need to get Moony to - er - the hospital - and so you'll be alone for the night. And this - sickness - shows up every month, so it will be a fairly regular occurrence for us to leave for the night. I just didn't want you to be too surprised if you came down in the night and couldn't find us, or something."

Silas realized with a rush of relief that he had been stupid. Why on earth would they dismiss him after putting so much effort into trying to teach him the past couple of weeks? And then he remembered that the two didn't know that he knew that Shyam-Seff was a werewolf, and they were trying to keep it a secret from him, obviously. He didn't understand why - after all, Zuri had assured him that he was safe when the man turned into a wolf, as long as -

 _Oh_. They didn't know that he could turn into a snake and be safe. Werewolves were supposedly only dangerous to humans, and they thought that he was a human. So it would make sense if they cared about him as much as they said and acted like they did that they wouldn't want him to be hurt by Shyam-Seff because he was human. He nodded to himself - a human habit he had picked up in the first week when he didn't know how else to communicate - deciding that his theory was solid. Why they weren't open about the exact reason for his sickness was still yet another mystery, but he was still working here.

"O-kay," Silas said after working this out in his head. He decided to act for the moment like he didn't know that Shyam-Seff turned into a wolf and said, "Shyam-Seff - be - g-ood?"

"Yes, I'll be fine, Silas," Shyam-Seff said with a happy smile that seemed out of place for what he would go through that night. Silas knew - thanks to Zuri - that turning into a werewolf was very painful, so he didn't know what he could possibly be happy about. Then the idea crossed his mind that perhaps he took potions that could make it not hurt when he changed.

"Y-ou - tay-k - po-shunss?" He asked curiously. "Mm-ake - you - b-eh-tter?"

Shyam-Seff blinked and chuckled, a bit sadly this time, he noticed. "Yes, I'll take some potions to make me better in the short term. It won't be permanent, but it will help after."

Hm. It seemed there wasn't anything to help the actual transformation - he could infer that only after he changed back could it help. He wondered if there was something that could make him not-a-wolf. Shyam-Seff seemed to hate it, and there was no reason to have a danger to humans running around.

"O-kay," Silas finally said. "I - w-ill – ss-tay - hee-er."

...

Silas knew that they hadn't actually left the property. They had bid farewell to him an hour before, after dinner and after Sirius had told him to do whatever he wanted but to stay in the house.

"Very important, that you _stay inside_ ," Sirius had emphasized. "Don't know what sort of stuff is out there this time of night."

Well, he _did_ know, but he wasn't going to tell him that.

Now, he lied on his bed as the night grew darker, and he could feel that itching inside that told him a predator was close by. It was worse than even when he'd first seen Shyam-Seff, and he knew that now it was because the wolf was so much closer to being a wolf now than he had been the past three weeks.

Sadi sat coiled on his chest, flicking her tail occasionally and remaining mostly quiet. She didn't feel nearly as worried as he did, though he thought that perhaps it was his snake side that sensed the wolf and his human side that told him to flee because his snake could sense it. It was very confusing - he tried not to think about it too much.

He would have changed into his snake form, but he wasn't sure if Sirius would come back to the house for something he'd forgotten - what, he didn't know - and he wasn't quite ready to share his secret yet. He wanted to be sure that neither of the men were coming back before he transformed.

Finally however, after the urge to flee - to _escape_ \- became too much, he shifted into his snake form.

Immediately he felt his panic dwindle and fade into nothing as instincts told him he was safe now, and Sadi sighed in relief next to him.

 _:Thank goodness,:_ she said. _:Your jitteriness was making_ ** _me_** _nervous, and it's good to see you a snake again.:_

He hissed softly in what translated to a smile, seeing as snakes couldn't make such expressions. Stretching in his form, he hissed, _:It feels good to be back to normal. It's very strange to go to sleep as a human, but I_ ** _have_** _gotten better at walking.:_

 _:Mm. Talking, too,:_ Sadi agreed, pressing close to him to better absorb the heat that stayed in his blood for a bit after changing back. _:I may not understand English too well, but I_ ** _can_** _tell you're doing better than you were when we first arrived.:_

Silas was about to answer, but then his snake senses picked up the sound of Shyam-Seff's screams in the backyard, in the underground cellar. It was far away from the house, but because of his heightened snake senses (in comparison to his human senses), he was able to clearly hear the pain in Shyam-Seff's voice as he cried out, his body clearly changing.

 _:He certainly tries hard to make sure you don't know about him,:_ Sadi observed, able to hear the same things he was. _:He really cares how you think about him.:_

 _:How do you mean?:_ Silas questioned, still attuned to the sounds far away.

_:All his bones are breaking - can't you hear? He must hurt a_ **_lot_ ** _right now, and he's been doing this for so long, so he knows exactly how much it will hurt every month and he was still making an effort to appear happy and normal earlier when you were talking with him.:_

Silas flinched at a particularly harsh-sounding crack, quiet as it was due to distance but still impactful when he heard the choked-off cry of pain immediately after. _:Yes, I suppose he does,:_ he said quietly.

 _:It's okay to care for someone else, you know,:_ Sadi said after a few moments of silence. _:Especially when it's so clear that they care for you, too. It can't be helped much then.:_

 _:I don't_ ** _want_** _to care for them, Sadi,:_ Silas sighed. _:I don't have any intention of staying here, with humans and especially Sirius and Shyam-Seff. I will go to Zuri's school so that I can be her friend and keep the stupid humans away from her, and then...:_

 _:And then what?:_ Sadi interrupted. _:You'll leave the school and go back to the forest? You'll live like a snake the rest of your life? You'll leave Zuri, your_ ** _friend_** _, to be alone again?_

_:And what about when_ **_I_ ** _die? You won't even be halfway through life. What will you do then? You'll have no one - no one except these humans who love you for_ **_you_ ** _, who try_ **_so_ ** _hard to get you to like them just a little bit in return. Why won't you let yourself care for them?:_

If snakes could start crying, Silas would have right then. He was silent for so long that Sadi began to doubt he was going to answer, but then he said softly, _:I'm so afraid of losing someone again. Sueva was...she was the only one I ever...and then I lost her. What if I lose_ ** _them_** _, too?:_

 _:It's better to love them and lose them than it is to push everyone away and never love anyone,:_ Sadi said wisely, unknowingly paraphrasing a popular Muggle quote. _:Just try. Give them a chance. You're the most important to_ ** _them_** _\- let them become important to_ ** _you_** _.:_

 _:I'll try, Sadi,:_ Silas promised. Suddenly exhausted, he fell to sleep, a distant wolf's howl seeing him off into dreamland.

...

"...WITH THE KIDS JINGLE-BELLING AND EVERYONE TELLING YOU 'BE OF GOOD CHEER!' IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR! IT'S THE HAP-HAPPIEST SEASON AF ALLLL!"

The house was filled with the scent of cloves and pine needles, courtesy of the decorations and the Christmas tree they'd gotten that morning. Sirius had insisted that Harry pick it out, and now he was dancing about the house in a red Santa Clause hat and singing jolly Christmas carols with the soundtrack playing in the background on the phonograph while Harry and Remus sipped hot chocolate in the living room. Harry helped hang gold and red ornaments - "For Gryffindor, of course!" Sirius had told Harry - on the tree and then Sirius lifted Harry to sit on his shoulders so that he could put the star on top. Then they had gone to the kitchen, where he had begun to help Remus make sugar cookies – half of Remus' job being to bat Sirius' dipping fingers away from the frosting multiple times. Sadi had sat placidly in his front pocket the entire time, and even though he didn't understand the holiday, Harry couldn't help feeling and enjoying the cheerful Christmas spirit about them.

"Oh - Silas!" Sirius suddenly remembered, pausing in his dancing and snagging Remus' cup of hot chocolate from the coffee table in front of them to take a large gulp. "Hermione sent a letter earlier - she'll be here after New Year's to come visit. Said something about telling you she'd give you your Christmas present then, because it might be too heavy for the owls." He shrugged and gave the now mostly empty mug to Remus, who was grabbing for it with a disapproving expression. "I would have told her she could just charm it to be featherlight, or put it in a bag that would do so, but I get the feeling that she just doesn't want us to know what the present is. That, or she wants to see your face when you open it. Girls are iffy that way."

"You are getting me more hot chocolate," Remus told Sirius, pointing at him after he'd got his mug back.

"Oh, Moony, you're going to turn into one of those hollow chocolate bunnies the Muggles sell," Sirius _tsk_ ed. "I refuse to further your addiction to all things cocoa. You should be thanking me, really."

"I'll thank you when you get me more of the chocolate you just stole from me."

Silas wasn't paying attention to their now familiar banter - he was thinking about Sirius' words and sipping from his own mug of chocolate - his third one that hour, because it really was quite tasty, even though the sweetness made him feel a bit sick. (The first one he'd had had been just _terrible_ , but then Shyam-Seff had made it with pure chocolate and only milk but no sugar and assured Silas he'd like it much better. He did, but Sirius had stolen a sip and proclaimed how he didn't know how Silas could enjoy something so bitter. So, he was safe from Sip-Stealing Sirius - unlike Remus who liked it made with milk chocolate and a lot of sugar.)

Silas was just happy that Zuri could come visit - he wanted to know how she was getting on at school and show her how much he'd learned already, and - if he was honest - he just wanted to see her again. She had sent one of those "Howler" letters to him about every other day, and had inadvertently proven that she knew her charms, because even when Sirius had walked into the room one day with one going, he hadn't been able to hear the words clearly. He'd said it sounded like it was muffled underwater. Silas didn't know exactly _what_ that was supposed to sound like, but he knew that Sirius meant it was indiscernible.

He didn't wonder so much about what she was planning to give him, but he was curious as to why she'd sent the letter to Sirius and not him. Perhaps it was another human thing - she needed to let the owner of the house know she was coming over. He nodded to himself. Yes, that seemed reasonable. And he was getting better at figuring out plausible reasons for humans' actions. He even figured out that toilets were used so that the floors wouldn't have to be cleaned, because it wasn't dirt like outside where it would decompose on its own. He still didn't understand why relieving oneself outside wasn't alright, even in dirt, but he was getting there. Sirius and Shyam-Seff kept saying something about modesty, especially when Silas came out of his room naked most mornings. (Somehow he kept hoping that they wouldn't say anything and just let it pass - human clothes were so _uncomfortable_ \- but they gently directed him back to his room to put something on every time, now that he knew the basics of dressing himself and didn't need their help identifying a shirt from trousers.)

"Fine!" Sirius' exasperatedly amused voice cut across his thoughts. Silas looked up to see him throw his hands in the air and go off toward the kitchen. "But I still say I was doing you a favor, getting rid of it for you!"

"Thank you, Padfoot!" Remus called teasingly, and Silas remembered what the two had been talking about before and perked up.

"Ch - ock-let?" He asked Remus, and pleadingly held out his mug with perhaps an inch of the drink left on the bottom.

Remus chuckled and called to Sirius, "Prongslet wants more, too, Pads! Be a darling and get some of his dark stuff, would you?"

"What am I, the housewife?" Sirius called back, but Remus heard him open the cupboard for another mug, anyway. Silas heard as well and settled back into the chair he sat in in satisfaction, draining the last of the warm drink. He tipped a couple of drops onto the coffee table next to Sadi, where she lied to be closer to the fire and still safe from large feet. (There had been an almost-crisis the day before when she had been on the rug in the morning while Silas looked at pictures in an encyclopedia, and Sirius had come in tiredly and almost stepped on her. Luckily Silas had looked up then and, seeing what was about to happen, had instinctively hissed out loudly and threateningly in Parseltongue, causing Sirius to stumble back in surprise and miss Sadi altogether. That would have been enough as it was, but before Sirius had stepped back, Silas' accidental magic had kicked in and Sadi had essentially been _accio_ 'ed into his hands. They weren't going to risk that again, no matter how much Sirius had apologized and promised to watch everywhere he went now.)

Sadi moved her head and flicked out her tongue a few times to get the chocolate. She let out a satisfied hiss at the flavor and continued sipping while the other two talked.

"So, I can tell you're excited for Hermione to come over," Remus said, leaning back in the couch. "Any particular reason why?"

Silas stared sat him incredulously, like he was stupid, and then tried speaking and explaining what he thought was perfectly obvious.

"Szsoo-ree - p-ritdt-y - s-martd," he told him almost indignantly.

"She's pretty smart? Yes, I agree with that assessment - she is very intelligent, especially for an eleven-year-old. I do think 'very' smart would be a better descrip..."

Silas shook his head furiously, and Remus stopped talking in surprise. " _No_ ," Silas stressed. "Szsoo-ree - iszs - p-ritdt-y - _and_ \- sss-martd!"

"Ah!" An amused, understanding smile lit Remus' lips. "I see. Remember those conjunction words are important to understanding what you mean; don't just say less just because you don't want to talk so much. What do you think is so pretty about her?"

Harry's scandalized look only grew. " _Ev-ree-thing_ ," he emphasized, and shot Remus a look as though daring him to disagree.

"Alright," Remus held up his hands placatingly. "I'm not going to argue with you. What's your _favorite_ part about her, then?"

Harry's scowl changed to a thoughtful frown. After several moments of silent thought, he looked back to Remus and scowled defiantly again, repeating, " ** _Ev-ree-thing_**."

Just then Sirius came in with three mugs balanced in his hands. His jolly appearance seemed to break through the tense atmosphere building up around the two and Remus looked to him in relief, thankful that it wasn't going to become awkward with his surrogate nephew.

"Here we are!" Sirius said cheerfully, handing Remus his cup first as he was sitting closest to the kitchen. "One cup of diabetes and premature heart failure for you! - And one cup of bitter sadness with milk for you!" - he winked at Harry as he handed him his mug to let him know he was joking - "And one cup of delicious heaven for me!" He settled down on the end of the couch so that Harry was to his direct right and Remus was down on the end of the couch to his left.

"Padfoot, you drink your chocolate the same way I do mine," Remus pointed out and took a sip of his chocolate. "How can it be diabetes and heart failure for me when it's heaven for you?"

"Easy!" Sirius said cheerfully. "You drink so much chocolate it doesn't have time to properly digest, so where can it go but your arteries and your veins? Your blood is made of chocolate, Moony - I know it. And that's gotta be bad for your blood circulation. It will soon clog, and you will have a heart attack, and you will die."

"Hm," Remus said noncommittally. "And heaven for you? I seem to remember a certain song that was practically your anthem a few years back called 'Highway to Hell'...be sure you keep in line with that when explaining."

"But of course!" Sirius proclaimed. "I will be going to Hell, but obviously I'm not _so_ horrible...I have been seen fit to be given a few pieces of heaven here on this earth, one of which - is this mug of chocolate. I am much too young to die, and someone up there knows it. So while it may give _you_ heart failure, I will live on to enjoy what little heaven I can before going down to shovel hot coal for all eternity. And you will go to heaven and have huge fluffy white wings that will remind me of bunnies and you'll play a cute little gold harp and come sing to me how you told me so when we were alive. And I will say that I didn't regret an _inch_ of that leather!" He finished his explanation with a flourish and a large gulp of his chocolate, leaving Remus to shake his head in amusement.

"Mental, this one," he told Silas confidingly. Silas just smiled a bit and shook his head wryly.

"I _own_ that!" Sirius cut in and stuck his nose up snootily. Remus just snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Only _you_ could be proud to be called insane, Pads." He informed him. "Anyway, I think it's time for a Christmas story and then bed. It's already been a long and busy day as it is."

Sirius pouted, even while Silas appeared to be in placid agreement. "But I wanna stay up longer," he whined, sounding more like a child than the adult he was supposed to be. "It's not even that late!"

"Sirius, it is almost eleven o' clock, and Silas' eyes are drooping," Remus lightly scolded him. Silas didn't even seem to take offense at the true statement, as most children might have at it being pointed out that they were tired. He just accepted the fact that someone had noticed and moved on. It only further served to prove that he was not like other children.

Remus went on, "We've been up since seven and you've been singing on and off – mostly on – for the last eight hours. I don't know how your voice isn't hoarse by now."

"It's all the chocolate," Sirius said shamelessly with a cheerful grin.

Remus didn't let him finish whatever it was he planned to say next, instead turning crafty.

"Anyway, the sooner you go to sleep, the faster you get presents in the morning. I think now it's time to read our Christmas story and then turn in."

Sirius let out an aggrieved sigh. "Oh, all _right_ ," he said, as though greatly put-upon. "Come on, Silas. Let's go pick out a story!"

Sirius went bounding out of the room, obviously on a soaring sugar high, while Silas got up at a more sedate pace and followed him to the library, sipping his chocolate on the way.

"I don't know who I should be more concerned about," Remus wondered aloud to the now emptied room, save for Sadi still lying on the coffee table. Shaking his head, he leaned back in his chair and took a large sip of his hot chocolate.

 _This will be the best Christmas in a very long time,_ he reflected while he waited for the two to come back with a book. _And it's all because Harry is finally back home._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I don't know if I ever specify it in the actual story, but the reason he has perfect vision now is because of his Animagus form - a side effect having nothing to do with genetics from his mother.  
> Thanks for reading!


	11. Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has been so patient! I know I usually update Thursday or Friday, but Thursday I was driven away in an ambulance and by the time I got back from the ER I was exhausted (like how you usually are after experiencing enormous pain) and then the next day I had classes and catching up on homework, and then yesterday I had more homework and a date so I never got to it. :/ It's been a busy few days. But it's here now! So be joyful.  
> To anyone who thought last chapter was the Christmas chapter – sorry, that's just Christmas Eve. This one is the Christmas one! :)  
> Also, I'm not going to apologize for my explanation of Christmas. Technically Jesus of Nazareth was born in April, but it's recognized on December 25th so that the Christians wouldn't face persecution from the Romans. There were other holidays at the time that would prevent it from being obvious what they were celebrating. Jesus told his disciples to celebrate his resurrection – not his death – over celebration of his birth. I can't find anywhere that says no birthday celebration, but he was talking about the importance of his rebirth, so maybe that's where the confusion lies.  
> Also, as for Mithras, if you consider a rock a virgin, then you're right. He was born to a virgin.  
> Sorry (not sorry) to anyone annoyed with my rant, but I explained Christmas in the best, most unbiased way I knew how. If you're still offended then that's your own issue.  
> And for anyone who is still with me, enjoy the chapter!

Silas opened his eyes Christmas morning and blinked up at the ceiling, feeling that the day was important but not quite remembering exactly why. It took him a moment, but then he sat up when he remembered – this was the day Sirius and Shyam-Seff had been talking about for the past couple of weeks – the one about presents and St. Nicholas and a tree and cookies and singing and family. He was still unclear on what exactly it all entailed, but now he would finally find out. After today, there would be one thing about humans that he would finally understand. That was somewhat relieving, in a place so confusing as it was.

His "alarm clock" said that it was 6:34, but that meant nothing to him – that was still something that he found confusing, was telling time – or even understanding the numbers. Rather, he looked to see the light coming through the open window, and that told him that it was morning and time to wake up. The room was still dark, but the light was beginning to rise, and that told Silas that it was also time for _him_ to rise. (That was still something that Sirius and Shyam-Seff didn't exactly follow – both of them tended to "sleep in" most days, so Silas was alone for an hour or two most mornings while the sun rose.) Somehow though, Silas thought that he wouldn't be left alone for too long _this_ morning, if Sirius' excitable and vivid descriptions were anything to go by. Sirius was excited to open presents, so surely he wouldn't sleep in to the usual nine-thirty, ten o' clock.

He turned his gaze to where Sadi had moved away from lying on top of him, to where she now sat in the weak morning light filtering in through the cracks in the blinds.

 _:That_ ** _can't_** _be warm enough,:_ he said in disbelief. He knew from experience that the sunlight in what he now knew as 'wintertime' was much weaker than in the summertime. It was always harder to warm oneself aboveground in the cold season than in the warm one – that's why most snakes hibernated.

 _:It isn't,:_ Sadi retorted without pause. _:But you seem to have developed a habit of just moving whenever you want, so even though you're a warm-blooded human, I can't trust that I'm not going to fall off when you sit up. So, constantly staying attached to you has become something of a hazard.:_

 _:Oh, I'm so sorry, Sadi,:_ Silas hissed repentantly, realizing that he'd hardly even noticed that he had knocked her off when he sat up, as she had been sleeping on his chest while he slept. _:I didn't even think about it. How about you go around my neck? It seems like the safest place, and it'll keep you warm without worrying about falling off, since I hardly move my neck at all anyway.:_

 _:Fine,:_ she let out something like a sniff and slithered up his proffered arm to drape herself about his neck. _:But you just be careful. Don't think I won't choke you if I feel you're letting me fall off.:_

 _:I would expect nothing less, darling.:_ Silas told her solemnly, lips twitching at holding back a smile.

It was just half past seven that Sirius finally came bursting into the room, looking just as energetic as he had the night before – if not more.

"Come on, Silas!" he shouted. "Wake up! _Presents_!" he stopped in sudden confusion when he saw Silas sitting, wide-awake, on his bed. " _How_ is it that you can wake up so early?"

Silas didn't know how to answer that in a couple of short words, so he just blinked at him and stared.

Sirius chuckled a bit awkwardly, but then his excitement came rearing back. "Well, what're we still doing up here for?" he demanded. "Come on, come on – we've got presents to open! Moony is already downstairs! No, no, no – put on your pants first! – come on, hurry!"

Silas reluctantly pulled on a fuzzy pair of red pajama pants, the softest he'd encountered so far and therefore the most comfortable. He'd barely pulled them up to his waist when Sirius grabbed Silas' hand, who flinched uncomfortably at first but then allowed himself to be dragged down the stairs and to the living room, where he finally stopped short in surprise.

There had been several presents under the tree the night before, but what Silas hadn't expected was for them to multiply to practically three times the amount overnight. Presents flowed from the tree so much in a way that it seemed like the base of the tree was a fountain that spewed the presents to overflowing. Everywhere there was shiny wrapping paper in green, red, and gold. The stockings that Sirius had insisted they hang up before going to bed the night before hung over the fireplace, packed chock full of goodies, and Silas could spot several candy canes curling around the embroidered _Harry_ at the top of his stocking. (He couldn't read it _himself_ , of course, but Shyam-Seff had told him that his mum had stitched it for him before his first Christmas, and he appreciated that enough that he could swallow being called by the wrong name for just a little bit – in the spirit of Christmas, after all.)

Silas gazed at Shyam-Seff, who rose from his seat on the couch with a smile to him. "Happy Christmas, Silas," he said. "Happy Christmas, Padfoot."

"Happy Christmas, Moony!" Sirius exclaimed cheerfully, bounding over to the couch and bouncing in place impatiently while he waited for Silas to come over.

"Hurry up, slowpoke!" he admonished Silas good-naturedly. "You've got ten years' worth of presents over here, and they're not going to unwrap themselves!"

Silas quickly discovered that he rather enjoyed opening the presents, even if he didn't quite understand what all of the actual gifts were, and had to have them explained by his guardians. Even the tearing away of wrapping paper seemed to be somewhat therapeutic in a way, giving him something to destroy and then being rewarded for it right after with the thing he'd just unwrapped. Sadi stayed curled around his neck the entire time, however, preferring not to get lost in the steadily growing pile of wrapping paper all about the floor.

After he opened one present wrapped in gold, he stared down into the box, confused and amused at what was inside.

"Ssaw-sseshge-ess?" He questioned the other two. He could feel coolness wafting out of the box in much the same way their refrigerator did.

"Yeah!" Sirius cheered. "There are thirty-six in there, but we put a cooling charm over the box so that they wouldn't go bad overnight. Just remember to cook 'em _before_ you eat 'em!" He waggled his finger playfully at him. "From what we could tell, sausages seemed to be your favorite food so far, so here's a supply to last at least a week!" He grinned at him.

Silas supposed that Sirius was right; he'd tried so many different foods in the time that they were there, but sausages seemed to be his favorite. A couple of other meats – like bacon and pepperoni – came in close seconds. He'd heard Shyam-Seff tell Sirius that it was likely because of the amount of salt in them, although he didn't know what salt was exactly, yet.

Still, Silas remembered to say "thhh-ayyn-k – you", and then Sirius (playing Santa) picked up the single present not wrapped in shiny paper, but rather a dullish brown – like parchment.

"Hm," Sirius peered at it. "This isn't from either of us, but there's no label on it." He pulled out his wand and cast a couple of detection spells on the thing before deciding that it was safe and handing it to Silas.

Silas couldn't hold back a small smile when Sirius checked for something dangerous on the package – while he didn't know what he could possibly find on it to hurt him, he appreciated nonetheless that, even through Sirius' childish excitement and adrenaline induced by the day, he could still think first. He had worried even through his playing Santa that the gift most likely for Silas might have something harmful on it, and proceeded to check with every spell in his arsenal so that he could be sure he was safe.

He shot Sirius a grateful smile as he took the package, and didn't notice the confused sort of "you're welcome" look that was returned as he turned to opening the present.

Something light as water seemed to fall out of the parchment-like wrapping, and Silas picked it up in confusion. It seemed almost weightless as he picked up the silky blue and purple fabric, but he didn't know the significance of it until both Sirius and Shyam-Seff leaned forward to have another look.

"Is that…?" Shyam-Seff seemed to hardly even breathe, and Silas looked up to see both of them staring, awe-struck, at the gift.

"It is," Sirius confirmed, and excitedly said, "Silas, put it on!"

Silas obeyed, although when he lifted the fabric he wasn't sure exactly what type of clothing it was – it seemed to be much like a large cloth, so he just wrapped it around his shoulders like he was snuggling in a blanket.

Sirius and Shyam-Seff let out exclamations of joy, so Silas, in confusion, looked down to see what all the fuss was about.

He was then shocked to realize that he couldn't see any of his body at all!

He hissed in shock, not even having the presence of mind to speak a word of English.

 _:I'm gone!:_ he cried in worry and a bit of fear. He wondered if, without a human body, he might never be able to change back into a snake, and that would be a nightmare. _:Where did I go? Why do I only have a head now?:_

His guardians caught on to his worry, and, even though they didn't understand exactly what he had said, they could get the general idea and hastened to reassure him.

"Oh, no, Silas – you're perfectly safe," Shyam-Seff said. "It's only giving the _illusion_ that you've disappeared. I assure you that you are completely whole underneath the Cloak."

"Yeah," Sirius chimed in. "I can't tell you how many times Moony and your dad and me disappeared under that thing during school – makes it perfect for sneaking around for pranks! You'll be just as safe under it as we were."

Silas was relieved, and even felt a little foolish for presuming that his body had disappeared. After all, he was still standing and he could feel his bare toes against the soft rug. Still, he felt a bit uneasy about not being able to see the rest of himself and removed it, handing it to Sirius.

"You – tt-ay-k – cc-airrr – uff – it," he told him. "I – dtooo – nn-ot – nn-eedt – it – nn-oww."

"You want _me_ to take care of it?" Sirius' eyes inexplicably went wide and filled with tears as he almost reverently took the Cloak from his godson. Silas nodded, uncertain in the face of his tears. Was he disappointed about being asked? He hadn't much experience with tears, seeing as snakes didn't cry their emotions.

"Thank you, H – Silas," Sirius said in a slightly choked-up voice.

"He's happy, don't worry," Shyam-Seff said quietly in an aside, correctly interpreting Silas' feelings. "Just a bit surprised." However, Silas also noticed that even Shyam-Seff's eyes were brimming with peaceful tears.

It was a few minutes before the seriousness that had shrouded the room moments ago faded enough that Silas noticed the note that had fallen out of the package. He picked it up, but he couldn't read all of the words, so he handed it to Shyam-Seff.

"'Your father left this in my possession before he died,'" Shyam-Seff read. "'It is time it was returned to you. Use it well.' Didn't James give this to Dumbledore a few months after Harry was born?" He directed this last question to Sirius, not even noticing his use of the wrong name.

Sirius nodded. "Lils was threatening to have it burned, because you kept getting lost under it when you took a nap and used it as a blanket," he told Silas with a grin. It wasn't as bright as his excitable childish grin that had been present the past hour, but it was still happy enough that Silas judged he had in fact not been sad with the presentation of the Cloak.

"Oh, yeah!" Shyam-Seff's expression cleared. "Didn't he hide under it while James was babysitting, and he couldn't find him until Lily got home and had the presence of mind to just _accio_ the Cloak?"

Sirius nodded with a reminiscent grin. "He didn't want to risk accidentally stepping on you," he told Silas, "So he just sat on the couch and didn't move a muscle till Lily got home. You were next to him on the chair the entire time."

Shyam-Seff laughed. "Lily was so angry that James had lost you, and so worried that it might happen again, that she told him to get rid of the Cloak until you were older or she'd light it on fire, and that none of the Marauders could be trusted not to give it right back. Seemed Dumbledore was the safest option at the time, but I'd forgotten that until now."

"Although I'm pretty sure Lily meant 'of age' when she said you had to be older," Sirius grinned impudently. "But she never specified, so I think eleven is a perfectly acceptable age. You do need it for Hogwarts, after all!"

Silas didn't want to tell them he didn't really care to be invisible, seeing as how it seemed important to the other two, so he just smiled a bit and tossed the wrapping from the Cloak aside, into the pile with all the other discarded paper.

When he had finished unwrapping all of his presents, he felt tired out from it all. Among the gifts from Sirius and Shyam-Seff were gifts from people he had never met before, like a box of fudge from a woman named Molly Weasley (which he immediately gave to the chocoholic known as Shyam-Seff) as well as a knitted black scarf with an 'H' stitched in green at both ends. Someone named 'Hagrid' had also given him a carved wooden flute (though Sirius had to explain exactly what it was and give a short demonstration to what it did), and still more people that even his guardians had never heard of sent him gift certificates to stores in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade.

Looking at his giant pile of gifts sitting next to him, he couldn't possibly fathom receiving any more, but then Sirius summoned a large package wrapped in shiny red from upstairs, saying it was the best and final present he had to give.

"It's from me _and_ Remus," Sirius said as he handed it over. "Happy Christmas!"

Silas opened it to reveal a shiny brand new broomstick. He remembered what they looked like because Sirius loved flying on them and playing a game called "Quidditch" (which he still didn't fully understand), and Sirius had taken it upon himself to explain the ins and outs of anything to do with flying on them. Silas didn't understand how a piece of wood could make him fly when it had no wings, but he took his godfather's word for it.

Looking at the shiny broom, he could tell that it was very high-quality – and on the handle it had _Nimbus 2000_ etched in gold lettering.

Sirius was practically jumping in his seat in his excitement for Silas' reaction, and Shyam-Seff looked fondly exasperated with his best friend while looking hopefully at Silas for his reaction.

"We can go flying after breakfast," Sirius proposed excitedly. "Me an' Moony can teach you how - you'll _love_ it!"

Silas didn't feel all that excited, but he didn't feel dread or disappointment either - he just shrugged to himself; he didn't know what to expect from flying. On one hand it sounded dangerous – he had been on the ground all his life, and usually _very_ close to it, so the idea of being a hundred feet in the air did sound... _odd_...but with the excitement Sirius talked about it combined with how protective he was, he supposed it _had_ to be safe and fun.

So, he smiled at Sirius in agreement, and wondered how much it would hurt if he fell off his broom from so high up in the air.

...

"Now, first thing you want to do, put your broom on the ground - no, just set it down, it'll be fine in the dirt - now put your right hand over it, and say 'up!'"

Silas turned a disbelieving gaze to Sirius who'd given the oddest instructions he thought he'd ever heard - and that was even more than how to bathe under running water known as a "shower faucet" (let alone that he was apparently supposed to do so every day).

"It works, Silas, trust me," Sirius assured him.

"Though I was never sure why it was necessary, personally," Shyam-Seff mused from a few feet away.

"It's so that the broom will become attuned to you before you try riding it," Sirius explained, to both his friend and godson. "Makes it easier for flying, and if you can bring it to your hand, it shows you're confident enough in the broom that you can fly it with less difficulties. Call it earning the broom's trust."

Silas nodded thoughtfully. He supposed this made sense - for magic, anyway. He'd learned over the past couple of weeks that with magic, illogic was the same thing as logic. Like a door that only opened if you asked it politely, or a clock that only chimed on Tuesdays at 11:33. It made no sense, but it was magic, so the rules didn't apply. At least the broom's rules made more sense than his bathroom mirror's.

They were in the back yard of the house, which really wasn't a yard at all but an expanse of land stretching beyond what Silas could see. Sirius told him he owned most of it, having bought the land even before Harry had been born for very cheap - not that he was lacking in funds. But, it had been before he had come in to his full inheritance that it had been bought, and now Sirius was "putting it to good use".

It had been after a breakfast of bacon and eggs that Sirius had grabbed his own broom and instructed Silas to grab his from the front room where it still lied unwrapped. Shyam-Seff had said he would observe that day, and Silas had wondered if his fatigue had anything to do with the full moon having been just four days before.

He gazed down at the broom, and, thinking over Sirius' words and instructions, he put his hand over it and started thinking of how to say "up".

He'd barely opened his mouth to speak the word when the broom smacked into his palm, and he instinctively gripped it to keep from falling back to the ground. He stared at the broom in surprise - he hadn't spoken, but it had still come. Maybe it had sensed his intent?

He looked up to see Sirius and Shyam-Seff staring at him in varying degrees of shock and surprise.

"That - did you say it?" Remus knew he hadn't, but he had to ask anyway.

Silas shook his head.

"Well, you're a natural already!" Sirius suddenly cried, his face breaking into a grin. "And clearly the broom already loves you! Alright - next, swing your right leg over the end..."

Sirius showed him how to sit on the broom and then how to properly grip the broomstick, and finally said, "Alright, you're ready to go up! Give a little kick off the ground and try hovering ten feet up - I'll be right next to you on mine in case you have trouble." He swung his leg onto his own broom and followed as Silas kicked off from the ground.

 _:Be careful, Silas!:_ he heard Sadi call somewhat fearfully from the back porch, where she lay curled on a blanket with a heating charm to keep warm while she watched over her brother.

But Silas no longer felt even the slightest twinge of nervousness. As soon as he'd risen in the air, he had felt all of his worries fade to the background, and he couldn't resist going higher than Sirius had told him to. He felt the wind rushing through his hair and over his body - his _human_ body, and for once he felt no self-hate at the thought - and all he could think was that this felt _right_. It was as though he'd known how to fly for years and simply forgotten, and now all of it came rushing back in the instant he rose in the air.

He heard Sirius calling out to him, but he paid no mind to what he was saying as he leaned forward on his broom and shot forward before pulling up and doing a loop in the air, feeling no fear when he went upside-down. Adrenaline pumped through him and he looped again before diving down in what he later learned was called a corkscrew, and then pulling up from the ground at the very last second. He was grinning so widely his cheeks hurt, and he was unable to restrain himself from letting out a joyous whoop.

When Sirius first saw Harry dart forward on the broom, he'd immediately gone after him, thinking the boy had lost control. He called out to him in concern, but Harry didn't seem to hear him, and he pushed his broom faster - but he was outstripped by the newer broom, and he suddenly realized the folly in not starting the boy out on a normal broom rather than a _racing_ broom.

But then the boy executed a loop that _seemed_ to be intentional - he followed more slowly in hesitation now, wondering if he'd perhaps underestimated Harry's skill. His heart caught in his throat when he corkscrewed toward the ground, and then had to force himself to relax when he pulled up from the ground at the last possible second. He caught the grin on his godson's face just before he heard him whoop, and let out a joyous bark of laughter.

He touched down next to Remus with a grin, and proclaimed, "He's a _natural_ , Moony - just like I said he'd be!"

Remus chuckled, face slowly regaining its color after witnessing the first few terrifying moments of Harry's flight. "It would seem so," he agreed. He waved his wand silently, and a moment later his own broom came soaring into his hand from the closet inside where his and Sirius' were kept. He hadn't planned to fly today - he'd thought he would watch Sirius teach Harry for an hour or so before they would go inside, but now with Harry off like a pro his plans changed.

"What say you, Padfoot?" He challenged. "Think you can beat this old sack of bones to the stream?"

Padfoot gave him a doubtful, concerned look. "Are you sure, Moons? It's only been four days since the full moon – you usually..."

Remus was nodding in mock solemnity even as he casually mounted his broom. "Smart move – giving up before it's started. You know I'd beat you by a landslide."

"Alright, Lupin," Sirius mock growled, mounting his own broom. "You asked for it. Last one there makes dinner for a week!"

"On three," Remus agreed, settling into place on his broom. "One – _three_!"

The two shot off in exactly the same moment.

...

Silas had enjoyed his Christmas immensely. The present opening was wonderful and then flying was simply amazing. He'd flown for a very long time – several hours, judging by the sun – and Sirius and Shyam-Seff had begun teaching him a game called "Quidditch". They couldn't play a full game with only the three of them, so they'd played a somewhat modified game where he and Shyam-Seff teamed against Sirius, and the first team to get to a hundred points with the Quaffle won the round. They played so many games that Silas wasn't certain how many he'd won versus how many he'd lost. They also continuously switched teams so that he and Sirius were teamed against Shyam-Seff and then he was teamed alone against the both of them. Sadi had remained on the back porch most of the time, and Shyam-Seff had gone to make sure the warming charm was still in place a couple of times.

Apparently the two had also placed some sort of bet when Silas wasn't there, although they had a hard time agreeing on the outcome of their bet.

"I'm telling you, I got to the water first," Sirius had said.

"No, you didn't – you _fell_ in after I got there – it doesn't count," Shyam-Seff argued back.

"It does so count! We said _to_ the stream first – that means touching the water, and you were completely dry before I got there!"

They had gone back and forth off and on during their games as well, though Silas didn't particularly care what they were arguing about and paid little attention to their words. It allowed him to score more goals anyway because he wasn't distracted like the other two – until they caught on to his plan, anyway, and shoved their friendly bickering aside to play some modified Quidditch.

After flying, Silas had found that he was immensely sore, like he remembered being after all of his practicing how to walk before he'd been found in that last forest. He had hobbled inside to lay on the couch, suddenly too tired to attempt stairs at the moment. He thought Sirius had handed him a potion that seemed to ease his aches immensely after he'd downed the vile thing, but by then he was too tired to process much and dropped off to sleep, lying on his stomach with Sadi curled around the back of his neck.

He'd awoken to the smell of something delicious wafting out from the kitchen, and curiously made his way inside. He found Shyam-Seff sticking something long and metallic into the meat in the oven, and Sirius sitting at the table munching some of the cookies they'd made the day before. Sirius noticed him come in, invited him over to the table to sit next to him, and while he and Shyam-Seff took turns preparing different sides and checking the meat in the oven, they told him stories about his parents and past Christmases they'd spent at Hogwarts. Where before Silas had been just above apathetic about his parents, he now appreciated the stories much more – likely because he understood more about human life now than he had a month ago and the stories made more sense. Several times he found himself laughing and smiling, and before he knew it, dinner was ready.

Shyam-Seff helped teach him how to set the table (again), and then Silas was overwhelmed with the amount of food suddenly before him. At his guardians' insistence, he had tried a little of everything – the ham and stuffing and mashed potatoes he found yummy at varying levels, but the green beans and sweet potatoes and fruit gelatin he screwed his face at. He couldn't help that he was mostly carnivorous, though he was doing better with breads and starches, as long as they weren't too sweet. He'd also tried some legumes like kidney beans and pinto beans and found them alright, though definitely not his favorite.

After the meal, Sirius had sent the dishes off to clean themselves with a wave of his wand and they'd gone back to the front room to read more Christmas stories. Silas found himself getting sleepier as time went on, and Sirius' reading voice faded to a murmur. Sadi seemed to have already fallen asleep in his lap, her breathing a soft rhythm he could feel outside of his normal senses.

Then there was an arm around his shoulders, and he realized he had begun to lean against Shyam-Seff in his sleepy fatigue. For an instant he tensed as Shyam-Seff pulled him closer, but then he relaxed and let his head drop to the man's shoulder. He gazed at Sirius still reading from the book, and then he felt a large though still gentle hand move to the back of his neck and begin rubbing.

 _:What are you doing to me?:_ he murmured without thinking to translate while the fingers massaged his scalp, turning his brain to goo. He didn't understand how such a gentle action could begin to ease him off to sleep.

"Ssh," Remus shushed him, quietly so as not to interrupt Sirius, and Silas was hard-pressed to argue amidst his bliss while the fingers continued working their magic.

In moments he was asleep, Sirius' murmuring voice fading completely away into darkness.

...

Several hours later Silas blinked his eyes open, disoriented when he found he wasn't in his room as was usual upon awakening. He squinted into the darkness and realized he was in the living room. He peered around for a clock, first seeing Sirius asleep in his chair, book open and resting on his chest, and then seeing the clock with digital numbers sitting on the fireplace, next to the clock with the face - both placed that way to help him learn to tell time. He saw by the digital numbers that it was 2:37 in the morning - the middle of the night, then. It was another moment before he realized he was leaning against someone's chest - he could feel the steady rise and fall of someone breathing below him. Considering that Sirius was already accounted for, that left...

He slowly tilted his head upward, catching a glimpse in the semi-darkness of Shyam-Seff's raised white scar and closed eyes. He was clearly asleep.

For a brief instant he wondered if he should feel scared. But then came the reassurance that he hadn't hurt him yet - and likely had no more plans to than Sirius did. And if it had been Sirius he was leaning against, he supposed he would just lay back down and go back to sleep, wouldn't he?

Yes, he decided, settling back down. He would. Lying on Shyam-Seff's chest, he closed his eyes, and in moments had dropped off back to peaceful sleep.

Remus awoke from feeling a slight movement against his chest and opened his eyes, gazing down at the boy still asleep on top of him. Sleeping like this, he appeared more childlike than he did while awake, long eyelashes softly brushing his cheeks, which were rosy from the warmth of the fireplace. It reminded him of the toddler he'd been so many years before, trusting and happy around everyone. His heart suddenly swelled with love and he ducked his face to kiss the boy on the top of his head, unable to contain his emotions. Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes to go back to sleep and smiled to himself.

It really _had_ been a wonderful Christmas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Christmas food was Americanized. Sue me. I was too lazy to look up typical English Christmas food, so we'll pretend they were just trying something new. Plus, I don't know what sort of food I would like from England so I couldn't describe it properly. (Though to be fair, I don't like ham either. Or hot dogs. Or sausage. Oh well.)  
> Also, I try and be correct with the Parseltongue vs. Parselmouth issue, but when I'm typing fast I don't always catch it. I went through with all the chapters to check that they were alright, and made a couple of corrections. Sorry – I do know the difference; I just get too excited sometimes and don't catch it before it's posted. :/ When I'm reading other people's and they make the same mistake I cringe also!  
> Also, someone offered up the idea of writing little oneshots about some of the things I've mentioned in here, and I must say I like the idea! So as this fic goes along, feel free to offer up any suggestions for oneshots and I'll see about writing them!  
> Thanks for reading!  
> ***Got a couple of reviews on the 'other site' asking what root beans are - forgot the word for legumes but I've fixed it. :) Sorry about the confusion!


	12. Knowing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! This update didn't take as long as I thought it would! ;)  
> This chapter marks the chapter when everything starts picking up a bit more, for anyone wondering. I know it had a slow buildup, but I think it's necessary for the future, so I hope not too many of you were upset with it. But, you're still here, aren't you? So I guess I did something right…;)  
> Also, I wanted to point out that while Harry/Silas is showing more trust in his guardians, he's still not completely confident, so there will be some moments where he seems to have stepped back in his progress. But no one can trust someone completely in such a short time – especially Harry.

Silas woke up a couple of days after Christmas, and for a moment had to regain his bearings, because unlike the past month's worth of mornings, he had awakened lying on his stomach - in his snake form. He was curled under his blanket in the middle of the bed - it was completely dark underneath. In an instant he had transformed back to human form, and he looked to the door, heart pounding, wondering if somehow the other two had heard or sensed him in snake form and were coming to investigate.

All was silent however, and he looked to his clock to realize that it was 8:43 in the morning. He blinked. He'd never slept past sunrise – though he supposed that it made sense, since his blanket had blocked all of the sunlight from getting to his eyes. He'd slept a good hour at least past usual.

 _:What's with all the moving around?:_ he heard Sadi grumble from underneath the blanket. A moment later her head poked out from the edge of the blanket to look up at him.

 _:Sorry, Sadi,:_ he apologized, realizing that she had been underneath like him and slept past usual as well. _:I accidentally changed back to a snake while sleeping – I was surprised when I woke up and changed back to human. You can go back to sleep if you'd like.:_

_:Why bother? It looks late, anyway. What happened?:_

_:The blanket blocked the sunlight from waking us,:_ Silas explained, sitting up and putting out his arm so that Sadi could climb up to his neck. _:They'll be awake soon – perhaps a half hour or so. I'm gonna go outside with my broom.:_

 _:Just do that warming thing and I'll be on the porch again,:_ Sadi decided.

 _:You know, you_ ** _could_** _just be by the real fire inside,:_ Silas suggested.

 _:And what if something goes wrong with your broom?:_ Sadi retorted. _:I wouldn't be there to do anything.:_

Silas decided not to point out that realistically, if something did in fact happen to his broom, that Sadi probably wouldn't be able to do anything anyway. Instead he went to the closet to grab trousers and a coat – it was cold outside, after all, and that was worse than itchy clothing at the moment – and then quietly made his way out of his room and down the stairs. He fetched his broom from the closet in the hallway before quietly going out the back door.

Going to the lawn chair, he unwound Sadi from around his neck and set her on the scarf he'd brought for extra warmth. Cupping his hands around the scarf, he focused inward and brought the warmth from inside to focus on it. A second later he felt the scarf emanating heat.

Sadi let out a sigh-like hiss, snuggling deeper into the scarf. _:I wish I could do that,:_ she said.

 _:Yeah, well at least we know_ ** _why_** _I can do it now,:_ Silas answered. He remembered several times as a young snake, somehow being able to produce warmth from within to warm up him and Sueva – and then him and Sadi – on those colder nights in the forest. He'd always thought he was just a bit different from the other snakes, but now he knew it was more than that – it was magic, because he was a wizard. Even now, it was hard to wrap his head around. While he hadn't been actively trying to keep his warming abilities a secret, his guardians didn't know about it yet. He saw no reason to tell them.

After making sure that Sadi was comfortable, he mounted his broom and shot off of the porch, taking immediately to the sky.

He had been flying for perhaps ten minutes when he suddenly felt dizzy and tired. This had been happening in more frequency over the past couple of weeks, but he was fine moments later so he paid no attention to it.

The dizziness suddenly increased, and with it came a wave of nausea. He faltered on his broom a moment, and paused, waiting for the sick feeling to subside.

When it diminished like he expected it to, he began flying with abandon again...only to stop a minute later when nausea and dizziness reared its head once more.

Deciding he'd had enough flying for the morning, he began flying back toward the house. He hadn't realized he'd gotten so far away.

It was when he could just see Sadi again that disaster struck. He was unable to ride out the next wave of dizzying fatigue, and suddenly he was tipping forward on his broom. Blackness clouded the edges of his vision as he got closer to the ground, and he was powerless to stop himself from falling off.

He hit the ground and felt sudden immense pressure all over his body. A harsh crack and a loud thunk sounded in his ears just before the sea of unconsciousness pulled him completely under.

...

Silas wasn't answering her. Sadi could see the expression on her brother's face and knew that something was wrong, but when she called out to ask him if he needed help he didn't answer. A moment later the oddest look she'd ever seen on him crossed his face, and he dropped from his broom to the ground. She heard a crack that seemed reminiscent of when Shyam-Seff's body changed to a wolf, and she immediately knew that Silas was in no position to help himself, let alone go for help.

Immediately she left the warmth of the scarf, darting to the ground, and suddenly shivered when her body hit the cold porch. She slithered over to the back door, but found it completely closed shut. She'd never be able to get inside without a pair of human hands and a few feet of height. She snaked her way across the porch and to the cracked open window to the room the machines were in for washing laundry, and moved as quickly as she could through the small crack.

In a minute she had made her way up to where she remembered Sirius' room to be – the one closest to the stairs and therefore closest to her. She slithered quickly up his bedpost and then dropped next to the head of the snoring man. He didn't wake at the movement, and she slapped his cheek with her tail. He snorted and brushed his hand over his cheek, as though trying to bat away an insect, and slept on. She slapped him again, harder, and he rolled over, facing away from her and pulling the covers over his shoulder.

 _:_ ** _Hello_** _!:_ she hissed loudly. _:Wake up! This is an_ ** _emergency_** _!:_

He slept on.

Fuming with anger and worry for Silas, she moved over his body to get to the arm thrown across the bed. She opened her jaw wide and, being careful to keep ahold of her venom (because she didn't want him to get sick while helping Silas and be unable to help anymore), she sank her fangs into the fleshy part of his forearm.

The man jolted upright, immediately awakened by the stinging pain, and his eyes moved instantly to Sadi, who had darted to be on his lap to get his attention as soon as possible.

"Sadi!" He said in groggy shock, and looked at the two parallel, bleeding holes on his forearm. It took a moment for him to comprehend what he was seeing, but when he did, he was no less confused than before. "...You bit me! ... _Why_ did you bite me?!"

She hissed loud and long to bring his attention back to her, and suddenly wondered how to tell the man his godson was in trouble in the back yard. Then she remembered a couple of days before, when Silas had been practicing his writing, writing out his name fifty times. She tried remembering what the actual letters looked like, and began forming her entire body to be a letter.

She had barely finished the "I" when Sirius got it.

"Silas! Is he in trouble? Where is he?"

He didn't wait for a response and jumped out of bed, running to Silas' room while Sadi went to the stairs so that Sirius would see her when he came out of the room.

When Sirius came out he simply picked her up and took her down the stairs in his hands, and then said for her to point with her tail where Silas was. Not even annoyed with how he treated her much rougher than Silas ever had (he _was_ worried, after all), she flicked her tail toward the kitchen, and when they got there to the back door.

In moments Sirius was dropping next to his godson, taking in the bloody wound on his head, the swollen arm, and more importantly, the legs that were lying at angles that shouldn't be possible. His right leg appeared to be broken in two places, and the left leg looked like it had been dislocated from the hip. He thought his arm might be broken as it appeared to have sunken in where it should be straight, but it was lying flat so he didn't know for sure. He saw the _Nimbus 2000_ lying several meters away, and surmised that Silas must have fallen off of it - though he didn't know how that was possible, after having seen him fly like a pro.

He quickly and efficiently set the boy's left leg back into place to prevent it from becoming more swollen, and then sent his Patronus off to Remus to wake him and tell him to get a Healer.

While he waited, he set a couple of splints at the arm and the leg, praying fervently that Harry would be alright.

...

Silas opened his eyes groggily, and winced when the light cut into his eyes. After a few moments he felt safe enough to open them again, and this time they quickly adjusted enough for him to see that he was in his bedroom. He blinked in confusion. He didn't remember going to bed. In fact –

Oh. That's right – he'd gone flying and then something happened to make him unable to stay on the broom. He'd been tired and sick and dizzy and it had been too much, so his body gave out. He hadn't realized his fatigue and sick feelings were so serious until he heard the crack that he was certain was a bone breaking.

He lied still at this thought, waiting for the pain to register with him after he'd realized he should be in pain after breaking something. But he didn't feel the slightest twinge – not even a bruise where he must've hit the ground.

 _Did it really happen, then?_ He wondered. He thought it had, but if he felt no pain...

_:Silas, don't_ **_ever_ ** _scare me like that again, or I will_ **_feed you_ ** _to a_ **_falcon_ ** _!:_

The sudden shout made him wince, but then he had to smile inwardly at how protective Sadi was. _I guess it did happen, then,_ he thought while Sadi went on.

_:I didn't even know what had happened to you, but suddenly you were falling off the broom! You told me you were_ **_safe_ ** _on those death traps!:_

Silas looked over to see Sadi pacing agitatedly next to him on the bed, tongue rapidly flicking out and back in every few seconds. After each lap she looked over at him as though to be sure that he was still there.

_:Sorry for scaring you Sadi, but it wasn't the broom – it was me. I just felt sick and dizzy and tired all of a sudden, and that's what caused me to fall off.:_

She peered at him closely as though wondering if he was lying or not, and then said, _:Why have you felt like this for so long? And don't try and lie to me – whenever you're a human you seem more tired as it is, but I've noticed you suddenly stop whatever you're doing to take a break recently over the past couple of weeks. What's causing this?:_

_:I don't know – probably something to do with me being in human form so long. I don't ever remember it happening when I was a snake the majority of the time.:_

Before Sadi could respond, the door to his bedroom opened and Sirius came in, looking tired and worried. He was carrying what looked like a bowl of water and a cloth, and his hair was unkempt and his beard growing out. The dark circles under his eyes spoke of sleeplessness and worry.

Silas stared at him, realizing that the dark circles and the stubbly beard spoke of more than just a few hours of unconsciousness – it seemed it had been days.

Sirius looked up then and finally noticed that Silas was awake. In a flash he was over to the bed, setting the bowl and the cloth on the bedside table.

"Hey, Silas," Sirius said concernedly, conjuring a chair and sitting down in it, scooting as close as he could to the bed. "How are you doing? That was a pretty nasty fall."

Silas looked down at his legs and experimentally moved them. There was absolutely no pain at all, though he did feel a bit groggy still.

"I – am – o-kay," he answered haltingly after a moment. "Dtie-erdt."

Sirius nodded like he was processing this as he said it. "Right. Right. I'm glad you're doing better. You've been unconscious for almost five days now – it's New Year's Eve. We called in a Healer and he got all your bones and bruises fixed up, but you were still passed out, so he did some more tests and…" He stopped, his brow creased suddenly in confusion as well as worry. "He said your body was in shock, because you kept pushing yourself to magical exhaustion." He turned his gaze to look directly into his eyes. "But I haven't noticed anything particularly worrying. What have you been doing to so thoroughly exhaust yourself?"

Silas was equally bewildered. He couldn't think of any sort of magic he'd done to exhaust himself. He supposed he _did_ always feel tired after casting spells when Sirius taught him, but not to the extent that he would collapse as he had. Even his warming charms for Sadi weren't particularly strenuous, and he'd been doing them as long as he could remember.

He shook his head in answer to Sirius. "Don't – know," he said. "Sss-ame - asss - alll-wwayss."

Sirius sighed and shook his head, running his hand over his face. "Your fever broke just last night," he informed him. "I brought in some cold water to keep it down – do you feel warm at all?"

Silas considered. "A – bpit," he said, "Not – bad."

But Sirius didn't need any more invitation. He wet the cloth with the cold water in the bowl on the nightstand, and patted Silas' face and neck with it. Silas would have protested, but as soon as the cool water touched his forehead, he began to feel better – not so sluggish – so he let him continue, patting the water over his neck and arms while he chattered about nothing important, and finally placing the dipped cloth over his forehead.

Then Sirius stood up and said, "I'm going to go get Remus – he's been worried too. He'll want to know you're awake. You just stay right there."

In moments Sirius was back with the tawny-haired man in tow, who held a bowl with food of some sort – probably soup, judging by its smell.

"I brought you some food, if you're up for it," he said, holding up the bowl as though to draw his attention to it as he came closer. He sat down in the chair beside the bed while Sirius conjured another for himself.

Silas suddenly realized that he was ravenous, and he sat up to lean against the headboard and accept the bowl from the older man's hands. At first he tried eating with the spoon, but he was still practicing, so it was awkward and difficult, especially as he was so hungry, so he dropped the spoon to his lap and lifted the bowl to his lips to drink it straight out. It was just a simple chicken broth, but to Silas it was heaven, as it seemed he hadn't eaten since he'd passed out.

As though reading his mind, Remus said, "We spelled some food into your stomach while you were out, but when you developed a fever the second day you couldn't keep anything down, so we've just been keeping it to a little water so you wouldn't get dehydrated since then. If the broth stays down we can give you something more solid."

 _:I'm hungry too, Silas – I've been too worried about you to eat, but now that you're okay, you should ask one of them to bring me some food.:_ Sadi cut in, sounding slightly haughty.

 _:Anything in particular that you want?:_ Silas said a tad sarcastically.

Sadi noted the tone but didn't care enough to comment on it. _:No. But two, of whatever it is.;_

Silas looked up at his two guardians who had watched this short interaction without even batting an eye. They were used to it now, which Silas was pleased about – however much they had tried to hide it, he had noticed their uneasiness when he spoke Parseltongue that first week or so. He was glad they found it practically as normal as breathing now.

"Sssah – leem," he addressed Remus, but the man was currently watching Sadi, and didn't look up at the sound.

"Sssah-leem," he said again, trying to get his attention. This time Remus looked up, more because Sadi wasn't currently speaking and didn't look like she would be anytime soon. Harry went on, "You – buh-ring - Ssay-dee – ffood?"

"Sadi wants food?" He clarified, realizing Silas was talking directly _to_ him. Silas nodded. "Anything in particular?" This time Silas looked at Sadi before shaking his head in the negative.

"Alright, I'll be right back," Remus promised, rising and leaving the room.

"Did you call Remus 'Salim'?" Sirius asked after a few moments of quiet.

Silas looked up from his bowl and nodded his head.

"Why? What happened to 'Shyam-Seff'?" Sirius looked bewildered.

Silas blinked as though confused that Sirius hadn't grasped something he thought should be fairly obvious. "Nn-ot - Shyam-Seff – anny-mmore," he said simply.

"Why not?" Sirius asked, just as Remus came back in.

"I found a couple of rats in the backyard – are those fine?" He said by way of greeting.

 _:Perfect,:_ Sadi hissed in a pleased tone with a flick of her tail, slithering over Silas' outstretched legs to be closer to Remus. Remus set the rats on the bed and said, "I cast a cleansing spell before bringing them inside, so I'm sorry if they taste odd but I didn't want to risk diseases or anything."

Sadi didn't seem to mind at all as she began working her jaw around the first rat.

"Silas has decided your name is no longer 'Shyam-Seff' but is now 'Salim'," Sirius informed the other man when he sat down.

"What?" Remus was just as confused as Sirius had been. "Why?"

Silas thought how to answer before he simply said, "Nn-ot – sss-care-d - anny-mmore." He was beginning to feel sleepy again, now with a full stomach, and he scooted down to be under his blankets on his back. Sadi let out a noise of protest when she was jostled, so he carefully picked her up and set her on the other side of him so she had more room, and then placed the remaining rat next to her.

Meanwhile, Sirius and Remus both looked startled, if still somewhat confused.

"Scared?" Remus echoed. "Why were you scared? What does that have to do with my name?"

Silas sighed, wishing that either of the two of them understood _anything_ about snake behavior and thought process and tradition, so that they would be much quicker in understanding and he could just go back to sleep.

Yawning, Silas said, "I – llive – llike – sssnn-akes. Thh-innk llike – sssnn-ake. Sssah-leem – puh-rred-uh-ttor."

Remus' face whitened. "Predator?" His voice came out higher than normal. "Me?"

Sirius' face was...serious. "Why did you think Remus was a predator?"

Silas cracked open an eye that had fallen shut. "Sssah-leem – _iss_ \- puh-red-uh-tor," he said with an obvious _duh_ in his voice. At their looks, he let out something like an exasperated sigh, like he couldn't believe they _still_ hadn't managed to put the pieces together. "Nnay-ums – mmean...Shyam – dd-arrk. Seff – wwol-ff." He nodded to himself, oblivious to the pale faces on both the men. "Wwolf – puh-red-a-tor." Then he shook his head. "Nnot – to – mme – orh – Sadi. _Wwe_ – ssay-fe." He closed his eyes, dreams pulling at the edge of his consciousness. "Sssah-leem – _sssaffe._ "

Then, ignorant of the identical shocked looks of the other two men, he drifted back off into peaceful slumber.

…

"This is where you tell me 'I told you so'," Sirius said minutes later as they moved into the kitchen.

"What?" Remus looked up as though startled that someone else was in the room with him.

"You know, because you said a couple of weeks ago that you thought Harry knew about you being a werewolf, and I didn't…don't make me tell it all over again." He cut himself off with a whine as he seated himself in a chair at the table.

"This isn't something to joke about, Sirius!" Remus snapped, his face still white from the revelation that Silas had known all along.

"What are you worrying about, Moony?" Sirius said, leaning back in his chair. "He woke up, so _that's_ a load off our shoulders, knowing he's not dying or something, and now you don't have to worry about keeping your wolfy side a secret from him anymore!"

"But he _knows_!" Remus' voice pitched higher in his stress as he began pacing back and forth in front of the table. "He _has_ known, this whole time! That's why he gave me that name!"

Sirius shrugged. "Yes, and he's clearly gotten over it," he reminded him.

"But that's why he was so scared – he _knew_ I was dangerous!" Remus said as though Sirius hadn't spoken. "He knows I _am_ dangerous!"

"Moony, stop being a babbling fusspot," Sirius chided. "Didn't you listen to him? He _was_ scared. Past tense. He's not anymore. And he even said you _are_ a predator. So he knows that you are dangerous at least sometimes, but then he said that you're not a danger to him or to Sadi. 'Salim' is his new name for you because…well, likely because he thought that 'dark wolf' didn't suit you anymore. And since his names have meanings, Salim suits you better because it means 'safe'. He said so. He feels safe with you now, even knowing what you become. There's nothing to worry about anymore."

Remus had to stop and think over his words for several moments before he let out a gutsy sigh. "You're right. I'm being crazy; not thinking."

Sirius chuckled. "Thank goodness you've come to your senses. I'm not used to being the rational one. I don't like it – I'll leave that to you."

Remus sat down next to Sirius at the table, calm now that things had been put in perspective for him. "How do you suppose he knew?" he asked.

"Knew about your furry little problem?" Remus nodded. "Sadi probably told him. Animal senses and all; she could've sensed it and told him to be wary."

Remus nodded, but something didn't seem quite right as he reviewed mentally what Silas had told them. "He said he lived like a snake and thinks like a snake," he said aloud.

"Uh, _yeah_ ," Sirius looked at him like he was being particularly slow. "Because he's been _raised_ by snakes. When he was a toddler and didn't know any better he probably thought he _was_ a snake. And he's been taught the ways of life by snakes. _Obviously_ he's going to see the world as a snake does."

"I don't…" Remus shook his head as though to clear his head. "I think there's more to it than that," he said, but didn't elaborate further.

"Well, I'll trust your instincts this time," Sirius frowned a bit in thought. "I mean, you were right last time. Just don't treat him any differently – we don't want to go scaring him off, thinking something is wrong."

Remus gave him a _Look_. "Of course, Padfoot. I'm not stupid."

Sirius quirked a grin at him. "Could've fooled me," he teased.

"I'm just glad Harry woke up," Remus sighed rubbing the bridge of his nose. "He smelled…very weak."

"Well, his magic was drained," Sirius reminded him. "Though how he could have managed draining his magic so thoroughly just baffles me. We haven't been doing much in his lessons as far as magic goes."

"Perhaps it's because he's using a wand that's not his," Remus suggested, looking up at him thoughtfully. "He's been using yours for a month now, but since it's not a perfect match, maybe it's just straining his magic too much. I know it's not usual for a child to exhaust himself just because it's not a perfectly matched wand, but it can happen, especially considering how Harry's grown up thus far."

"Well, we'll have to get a wand for him soon, then," Sirius said decisively. "That way we won't have another incident like this one. Bloody terrifying."

"Let's take him to Diagon Alley after Hogwarts goes back in session," Remus suggested. "That way there will likely be less people to overwhelm him."

Sirius nodded. "Hermione Granger will be here in two days," he remembered. "She'll be here just in time for lunch and spend the afternoon and evening with us – her parents are coming, too. Hopefully Harry – er, Silas – will be feeling better by then. I know Hermione is excited to visit – and so is Silas, even though he doesn't talk about it or really show it."

"I'm certainly glad that he's found a friend in her," Remus said gratefully. "Her letters have been a tremendous help in acclimating him better to people."

Sirius smirked. "It's because he has a crush on her."

"Really," Remus said doubtfully.

"Of course!" Sirius exclaimed. "He may not realize it himself, but I can tell when someone is crushing on someone else – Silas included."

"Alright, Padfoot; whatever you say." Remus said mildly.

"Hey – that sounded like you don't believe me!" Sirius said offended. "Are you being sarcastic?"

"Hm? No, not at all."

…

"Silas!"

Zuri's hug practically knocked him over as soon as she came through the front door, and only grabbing the doorknob of the coat closet next to him kept him from completely crashing down. He hissed out in surprise and she quickly jumped back, releasing him.

"Sorry!" she gushed. "I'm just so excited to see you! I heard you were sick a couple of days ago – are you doing better now? Mr. Black said that you fell off your broom? I personally don't particularly like flying – and really the only people who have a use for it are Quidditch players, right? I mean, most magical folk will Apparate or Floo, though of course I've never done either, because you have to be of age to have an Apparating license, and our fireplace isn't connected to the Floo network, though I think the idea of riding through a fire is just _fascinating_ , especially because you can use the Floo network like it's a telephone, too – just think if Muggles could travel through their phone lines! I think it would be just fascinating to see how that works…"

"Hermione, let the boy breathe," a man said behind the girl, and Silas tensed, not having noticed him before through his occupation with Zuri. He was tall with brown hair and warm brown eyes, and he was wearing a thick black coat and holding a large, heavy-looking box in his arms wrapped in green. The woman beside him very closely resembled Zuri, though she had very smooth chocolate-colored hair. Her gloved hands were holding something wrapped in a brown paper bag.

"Oh!" Zuri suddenly flushed in embarrassment. "Silas, these are my parents, Dan and Emma. Mum, Dad, this is Silas."

"Hhello," Silas said with a small smile, slowly calming down. He had practiced this word with Salim, so there was very little hesitation when he spoke.

"Hi, Silas!" the man said cheerfully. "Zuri's talked of practically nothing else besides you the past month in her letters, so we're pretty familiar with your story."

Silas' wide-eyed gaze darted to Zuri, thinking that by his words he meant that he knew that he was a snake, but Zuri noticed his look and assured him, "Oh, Dad's just teasing. I've talked about _other_ stuff too," she said with a grudging look to her father, who only grinned cheekily back at her, "But I told him how you don't go to Hogwarts yet because you've been living with snakes in the forest, and so Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin are teaching you about living with people and how to talk since you only know how to speak Parseltongue."

"Yes, where _are_ your guardians?" Mrs. Granger asked him cheerily, looking behind him as though expecting them to be hiding.

"Right here!" Sirius suddenly called, walking into the room. "Sorry – Remus found a large infestation of bundimuns in the basement just minutes before you arrived and we had to get rid of them immediately."

Hermione spoke up at her parents' clueless looks. "Bundimuns are like fungus with eyes and legs. They feed on dirt, and they smell like decay. They secrete stuff that will rot away at the foundation of their dwelling. Usually scouring charms can get rid of them, but if the infestation grows too out of control, the Pest Sub-Division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures has to be called in."

Sirius nodded at her in appreciation as Remus walked in. "Well, come on in – no reason for you to stay out in the cold," he invited, waving them inside and closing the door behind them. "I'm Sirius Black – this is Remus Lupin."

"Dan Granger," Mr. Granger said, shaking his hand, "This is my wife, Emma."

"We brought you some wine," Mrs. Granger offered, handing over the package wrapped in brown paper bag. "Thank you for having us over."

"Of course, not a problem!" Sirius said cheerfully, accepting the bottle of wine from the woman. "I know Silas has been excited to see your daughter again – letters are never quite the same."

Mr. Granger sighed. "Don't I know it," he said feelingly. "We're just happy that Hermione could come home for Christmas – we've never been in a boarding school situation before. You can prepare yourself all you like for next year, Mr. Black, but you won't ever be truly prepared for how much you'll miss your child while they're away."

Hermione could see that the four were going to get in to boring parent-talk, so she turned to Silas. "I brought your present!" she told him, and carefully took the large box from her father. "You wanna go to your room to unwrap it?"

Silas nodded, and Hermione looked to her parents. "We'll be up in Silas' room," she told them.

Mr. Granger waved her away. "Alright, sweetheart – just leave the door open."

Hermione made a face but obediently grabbed Silas' wrist to lead him up the stairs.

"Lunch will be ready in just a few minutes!" Remus called after them. Hermione shouted back an affirmative and Silas led her into his room.

After they got up to his room, Hermione set the package on Silas' bed, and then pulled out her wand and waved it about the room, softly intoning a spell that he didn't catch.

"Just a silencing spell," she explained. "I'm not too worried about them trying to eavesdrop, but I don't want them to accidentally overhear something I'd rather they didn't. And since this is a magical household, I won't get a warning from the Ministry of Magic for improper use of magic. Anyway," she went to the bed to push the package closer to Silas. "Open it! I've been excited ever since I saw it in the catalog!"

Silas sat on the bed with the package between them and began tearing away at the wrapping paper to reveal a simple brown box underneath – like the kind that movers used. He opened the box to reveal…

A rock.

It was a large rock, probably about two feet across and a foot tall, but it was still a rock. Knowing that Zuri wouldn't get him just a simple rock, he looked up at her questioningly.

She smiled a bit and stood up to take the rock out of the box and set it on the ground.

"I tried putting a featherlight charm on it," she explained, "But I didn't have much practice so it only worked about halfway – easy enough to carry, anyway. I didn't want to ask a professor for help because I didn't want them to suspect anything. Anyway, as you probably already figured out, it's not just a simple rock." She tapped the top of the rock with the end of her wand and said, "Activate."

Motioning him over to the rock, she placed her palm on the flat surface. "Touch it," she urged him. Obeying, he put his hand next to hers and instantly felt a low warmth seep into his palm. He looked up at her in surprise.

She smiled a bit at him and explained, "I found it in a catalogue for snake care – it's so that when it's cold you can still get warm without the sun. I told my parents that I got it for Sadi, but I purposely got one big enough that both of you could be on it at the same time when you're in your snake form if you wanted. All you have to do is tap it with a wand and say 'activate', and once you're on it, it will automatically adjust to the proper temperature to keep you warm in relation to the temperature outside. To shut it off, just tap it again with your wand and say 'deactivate'." She looked at him a bit anxiously and said, "Do you like it?"

Silas grinned at her. "I – llovve – it," he assured her. Glancing back to the rock for a moment, he said, "I – tuh-ry – it – nn-ow?"

Zuri grinned back at him, ecstatic that he responded favorably to her gift. "Sure," she answered, nodding for him to go ahead.

Silas moved Sadi off of his shoulders and onto the rock, where she let out a pleased hiss at the sudden warmth. A moment later, a slightly larger, darker snake slithered up the rock to be next to her, letting out a hiss just like his sister's. He stretched out his long body in the same fashion a cat might stretch while Hermione watched in fascination and happiness that he liked his gift.

A moment later, Silas transformed back to his human form and rose to his feet. He gave her a thankful look, but before he could get a word out, they both heard a shocked sound at the doorway.

They both snapped their heads up to see Sirius standing in the doorway, staring at Silas with wide, shocked eyes. Silas' face drained of color and he took a step back.

"Harry?" Sirius choked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha yes I'm leaving you right there. I'm evil. *evil grin; maniacal laughter* Hope you enjoyed the chapter – thanks for reading!


	13. Liberated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I was called a mad scientist for that last cliffhanger I decided it was time I updated…thank you, she-who-waits-in-darkness, for brightening my day! :p  
> Sorry for the wait, but I have this longer than usual chapter to make up for it! XD

"Mr. Black – " Hermione started after removing the silencing ward, but Sirius only had eyes for his godson and didn't seem to notice that she was there.

"Harry," he said again, still stunned as he took a step forward. "Er – Silas. You – you're an Animagus! A _snake_!"

"Mr. Black," Hermione said again, stepping in front of Silas as her friend took another step back. "Will you please calm down before you come any closer."

Sirius' gaze wandered to hers, and he looked startled, as though he'd forgotten she was there. "What?"

"Step _back_ ," she said in a tone that brooked no argument. "You're scaring him."

Sirius looked at Harry and saw that the girl was right. He was practically cowering behind Hermione, staring at him with large fearful eyes while he held Sadi protectively close to his chest. Sirius hadn't even noticed him pick her up. He obediently took a step back, but now he was stunned and hurt, if not a little confused.

"Silas, I'm not going to hurt you," Sirius tried assuring him. Silas peered at him carefully before speaking.

"Y-you – ww-on-t?" He asked, stuttering more to do with fear than trying to remember how to say the English words.

"Of course not!" Sirius exclaimed. "In fact, I think it's _amazing_ that you're an Animagus – and this explains so much now, too! That must've been how you lived with the other snakes then, wasn't it? Bloody _amazing_ , is what it is!"

Silas might have doubted him if not for the honest, open grin adorning the older man's face. He straightened a little, still cautious but not fearful any longer.

"Ha – _Silas_ – your dad was an Animagus too, and so am I; really it should've been inevitable you'd follow in our footsteps! I'm _proud_ , is what I am!"

Sirius seemed like he was about to say more, but Silas cut him off. "Sssnakess – don' – haff – ffoot-sstepss," he corrected, uncertain. "Nno – ffeeet."

Sirius waved a hand. "Of course, Silas, it was metaphorical – a human expression. Bloody hell, you must've changed really young, didn't you? That's why no one could find you after that night – you just walked off yourself." He muttered the last bit to himself, but Silas still heard perfectly clearly, despite inferior human ears.

"Mr. Black," Hermione interrupted his shocked rambling. "My parents don't know about it and Silas would like to keep it a secret from as many people as possible, and if we don't go down to lunch they'll know something is up. So if we could keep quiet about it around them and go down to eat now, that would really be best."

"Right – yes, of course," Sirius straightened abruptly, snapping out of his shock, though he still gazed at Silas in unmistakable pride. "Let's get down, then!" And he trotted merrily from the room, expecting the two (and a half, counting Sadi) to follow him down the stairs.

"Silas," Hermione stopped him before he could leave. "You're alright, aren't you? Because you know Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin love you more than anything, and they're not going to hurt you, right?"

Silas looked at her with a somewhat resigned, though still vulnerable expression in his eyes. "I – am – o-kay," he assured her. "I – ddid – nnot – ecksss-bpect – hhim – to – ffin-d – outt – yyet."

Hermione nodded guiltily. "I'm sorry, Silas – he only found out because I told you to try out the rock and didn't even bother closing the door. I didn't expect us to be fetched for lunch so soon, so I thought it would be alright and didn't even think."

She might have gone on, but Silas reached up and put the tips of his fingers over her mouth to silence her. "Nnot – your – fffaault," he said firmly, or as firmly as he could with his halting words. " _I –_ shhan-ge – to – ssnake. Mmy – fffaault."

"Alright, Silas," Hermione relented, though it was clear she didn't agree with him. "Let's go see about that lunch."

...

Silas had a marvelous time all afternoon and evening with Zuri. While she did most of the talking, he was glad to finally be able to contribute – he hadn't been able to send her his own of the 'Howlers' because he didn't know the charms to make it so only Zuri could hear, and didn't want to risk so many people hearing him at this Hogwarts – or worse, embarrassing his friend. She had said Howlers at breakfast were embarrassing to other students after all, and he didn't want to put her through that.

He didn't think that Sirius had told Salim anything about his snake form, but he could tell that Salim knew that _something_ was being hidden from him. He had already planned that Salim would know after Sirius had found out anyway though, so he wasn't too worried. He was certainly grateful that Sirius had proclaimed his pride in him – though what he had to be proud about, he didn't know. The snake was just who he was, anyway. It wasn't really anything particularly spectacular that he'd done.

Luckily the Grangers didn't suspect anything out of the ordinary, having nothing to base their normal behavior on, and they had a marvelous time in the several hours of their visit. Silas even learned how to play a couple of Muggle card games that they had brought over, and after a couple of hours of fun he could even ignore Salim's inquisitive looks with little to no problem.

Finally however, after the Grangers had left much later than expected, having stayed for dinner and chatting afterwards as well, Salim could finally question what Silas and Sirius knew that he was unaware of.

"Alright, out with it," Remus told Sirius bluntly. "You've never been good at keeping secrets from me and you've been acting oddly since lunchtime. Silas, too. So spill it."

"We were going to tell you," Sirius protested his innocence while Silas quietly pondered what 'spill it' was supposed to mean if not in the literal sense. "But Silas didn't want the Grangers to know, and, well...it may take a while to get all of our questions answered. I don't know all of it either, but..." He turned to look at Silas. "Why don't you just show him?"

Silas gazed at him nervously, and then set Sadi down on top of the couch next to him. Then with no fanfare, his form blurred and shrank and in a second a snake sat coiled where a boy once stood.

Remus choked in shock and gazed at the snake before him. Mind racing with possibilities, he sank to his knees and reached out a hand to touch him. Silas shrank back and issued a warning in the form of a slight hiss.

"Amazing," Remus breathed after pulling his hand back. "To be an Animagus so young...it must have been accidental, since I doubt the snakes – of course! That's how you could live with them so long – you _were_ a snake!"

"I only found out accidentally," Sirius explained. "Hermione brought him a rock that would heat him in his snake form, so she's clearly known for a while. So, I was telling him how _proud_ I am that he's managed such an amazing feat of magic." He gave Remus a look filled with meaning at the last sentence, and Remus understood perfectly.

"Yes, it _is_ amazing," he affirmed, looking at Silas and not revealing at all that a silent conversation had just taken place between him and his best mate. "Let me just say, Silas, that I am indeed also very proud that you have managed this transformation – and so fluently as well! I predict that you will be simply _amazing_ in Transfiguration when you go to school."

Silas transformed back, and both men noted that he looked significantly calmer than he had all day – all _week_ , even. They realized that he must have been trying to keep this ability a secret since he had arrived, probably out of fear. Both were grateful that his fears had been at least somewhat alleviated.

Letting Sadi slither her way back up around his neck, Silas gazed a bit warily back at the other two men. He was certainly relieved that they had taken the news rather well, but he wasn't going to be foolish enough to let his guard down so soon. While it was unlikely of them, he knew that humans could lull a snake into a false sense of security to better and more easily catch them later. He remembered the horror stories that Sueva had told him when he was little more than a hatchling.

"I wonder if this ability has anything to do with your magical depletion," Remus wondered aloud.

"What do you mean, Moony?" Sirius questioned with a lost expression.

"I'm not sure, to be honest. It's just that if you've been living as a snake your whole life, perhaps your magic is simply unused to changing to a human, and is trying to adjust." Remus addressed his theory to Silas.

"That doesn't make sense though," Sirius argued. "If anything his magic would struggle to keep him in _snake_ form without dropping, because his magic had already grown to accommodate a human child when he would have changed."

Remus thought a moment more before shrugging and looking at Silas. "Well, it was a thought, anyway. But we also thought that perhaps because you weren't used to using magic that it was harder for you to channel your magic through Sirius' wand, so it put more strain on it and tired you out much faster than others' might in the same situation. So this week, after the other Hogwarts students have gone back to school, we'll take you to Ollivander's in Diagon Alley to get you your own wand. Hopefully that will help with your magical exhaustion."

Silas nodded, slightly stunned. Even after finding out he was a snake, the two still planned to help him with his magic, and with what seemed to be genuine worry and care over his wellbeing. If that didn't show that they wouldn't hurt him for his snake abilities, he didn't know what would.

...

"Now, there will be many people there – much more than you're used to," Remus instructed, fastening Harry's cloak at the neck as the boy had yet to learn how to tie a bow. "So if you feel overwhelmed, we'll have to figure out another time when we can go – perhaps when it's less crowded. I don't know of another time that _would_ be less crowded than now, but we'll see."

"Moony, you must've told him a gazillion times by now – I think he understands." Sirius said from where he leaned against the fireplace, waiting for them to be done so that they could all Floo to the Leaky Cauldron.

"Besides," he continued, pushing himself up to stand upright and grab the pot of Floo powder from where it sat on the mantle, "I'm sure Silas will be perfectly fine in the Alley – he's a tough lad." He winked playfully at Silas, and Silas found some of his nervousness decreasing.

Remus saw how Harry loosened just slightly at Sirius' words and held back his retort. Clearly Sirius' joviality set the eleven-year-old at ease much better than Remus' own reassurances that he could come back if it became too much. He supposed he was being a bit overbearing – and by his words he implied that Harry had something to be concerned about. Still, he himself was nervous that Harry might not be able to handle it all – he had never been around so many people at once in all his memories.

Luckily he had Sadi with him to put him more at ease, though Sirius had suggested that she go about his arm this time so that people wouldn't see it around his neck and either, a.) immediately assume that he was a Parselmouth and therefore a Dark wizard, or b.) see it and because of its oddity look to his face and realize that it was Harry Potter, and immediately make suspicious assumptions, or c.) see it around his neck and think she was hurting the boy and do something brave (read: stupid). They were trying to keep as low-profile as possible, and a snake around his neck would just open a can of worms they weren't ready to deal with.

Silas had luckily understood the need for secrecy, though he didn't know why they would think him _bad_ just because he could speak Parseltongue. He had grown up with stories about people thinking snakes bad – but thinking that _talking_ to snakes was a sign of being evil? That was new and completely foreign.

"Alright, you remember how to Floo?" Remus said to Harry. "Just like we practiced from the living room to Sirius' room, alright?" Harry nodded, noticeably impatient.

"Alright, alright," Sirius said. "I'll go first, so I can catch you on the other side. The Floo tends to pick out who's new to it, and as we've witnessed, it just loves tossing you like a potato sack out of the fireplace." He winked teasingly and grabbed a handful of powder, stepping into the fireplace.

"The Leaky Cauldron!" He said loudly and clearly, and in a puff of green smoke, he was gone.

"Remember to say it clearly," Remus reminded him as the boy took a handful of the powder for himself. "Just like we practiced."

Silas nodded and paused, focusing for a moment and scrunching his eyebrows in thought. He mouthed the words a couple of times to himself to be sure he got it right, and then stepped into the fireplace.

"The – Leaky – Caul-dron," he announced with only a slight stutter, and in a moment he was gone as well.

When Remus stepped out the other end of the fireplace, he was pleasantly surprised to see that Harry had made it through with no difficulties, though he did have a spot of soot on his nose. He supposed that Sirius must have cast a _scourgify_ on his clothes, as there were no other specks of black to be seen.

They avoided the curious though small crowd at the Leaky Cauldron with no difficulties, luckily no one caring to recognize the trio as they made their way through to Diagon Alley.

When the brick gateway opened up, the two older men had to chuckle at the amazed though slightly apprehensive look that appeared on Harry's face when he gazed upon the colorful and spacious shopping center. Remus produced a camera he'd brought for the occasion and snapped a picture of Harry with Sirius standing beside him. Harry didn't even notice as he gazed out, and Remus was gratified to see that there were indeed fewer shoppers than normal, while Sirius chuckled again and prodded Harry gently to get him moving.

"Come on, pup," Sirius said quietly. "Ollivander's is near the end – let's go."

Silas followed along willingly, though as they walked he swerved his head back and forth to try and take in as much of it as possible. He had never seen anything so huge, and the humans were – well, some were a bit nerve-wracking, but he figured Sirius and Salim would get rid of any of them that looked like they might hurt him before they could, so he wasn't as concerned as he might have been.

And the things the humans had...they were simply amazing. He wasn't even sure what half of it did – though when he passed a place that Remus identified as the apothecary when he saw his wrinkled nose, he wondered if the things in there went into potions. A couple of things he could pick out with his nose that he recognized, but most of the smells were unfamiliar to him.

They passed another place that was identified as a book shop – Silas recognized the letters on the books in the front window, though some of the words were completely unfamiliar. Parts of the words made sense, but he still needed to work on sounding out the longer words. He wondered how many of the books in there Zuri owned or had read.

He was fascinated by the colors in the ice cream shop, having never seen such a vibrant range in his time in the forest. The smells were off-putting, though – he could practically taste the sweetness of the ice cream just on the sidewalk outside. So, while it was fun to look at, he had no intention or desire of stepping inside.

Finally they arrived at Ollivander's, and Silas was surprised when the door closed behind him and the sound outside in the Alley seemed to mute instantly.

The shop had the smell of dust and wood, and as Silas gazed upon the rows extending far beyond what seemed possible from the outside, he mused that there must be magic involved to make it bigger on the inside. There appeared to be no "Ollivander" in sight, though he could faintly hear rustling a couple of shelves over.

Before he could think to say anything, an old man with wispy white hair that flew out from the sides of his head appeared from behind one of the shelves.

"Well, well," he said in a reedy voice, while the three stepped up to the counter, "It's not usual for me to get someone coming in for their first wand in January. But then"—he suddenly leaned closer to Silas, and the boy leaned back a bit uneasily—"You _are_ unusual, Harry Potter."

The use of the human name caused Silas' indignant anger to rear its head and suddenly he was no longer creeped out by the old man.

"My name – is Silas," he said with surprising clarity, though with that same hissing undertone that Remus had previously compared to an accent.

"Of course, of course," the man said unperturbedly, leaning back and looking up at the two men who looked very protective of their young charge. "Ah, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Wands still working well for you both, I hope?"

"Yes," Sirius answered for the both of them. "But we're here to see about Silas getting a new wand – he's been using mine, but we believe it is causing his magic to be pushed to exhaustion – therefore the need for one that works according to his own magic."

Ollivander's nearly colorless eyes snapped to Sirius as he narrowed his gaze. "I have never heard of that being the fault of a wand being unsuited to its user, Mr. Black. Are you quite certain your wand is the cause?"

"Well, you yourself said that Silas was unusual," Remus said neutrally, though there was a note of steel in his eyes. He didn't really answer the question, which Ollivander had the sense not to comment on. "Now, can we see about matching him to a wand?"

"Of course, of course," Ollivander mumbled a bit to himself and stepped back, and suddenly a tape measure appeared from nowhere and began taking Silas' measurements. "Let's see...dragon heartstring and hawthorne?" He had moved to his shelves of wand boxes and now pulled one down from a shelf at eye level.

"Now – which is your wand arm?" Ollivander asked the boy while snapping his fingers to get the tape measure to stop from where it had been measuring the distance between his nostrils.

"Sometimes he's right-handed," Sirius put in. "But sometimes also left-handed." He didn't bother explaining that Harry simply hadn't decided which hand he preferred to write with yet, and seemed to fare equally well with both hands. But then he still had the handwriting of a five-year-old, so scribbles couldn't be too different from one hand to another.

"Ambidextrous, hm?" Ollivander seemed to quiver with excitement at the very notion. "I've noticed that most ambidextrous witches and wizards who come in seem to fare better with two wands – works differently than with the one, though it is much more difficult to place a wand, as they have to be compatible not only with the witch or wizard but also with the other wand. Are you interested in buying two today?"

Remus and Sirius exchanged looks, and Sirius answered, "We'll see how this goes."

Silas obligingly went through the motions of waving several wands, which Ollivander snatched up and replaced so many times there was a pile growing on the counter. But rather than get impatient, it only seemed to make the odd old man quiver all the more in ecstasy.

When Ollivander muttered something to himself and pulled down another wand, Silas' eyes were immediately drawn to it. He felt a pull to the wand in a way none of the others had done. He reached out much more willingly to take the wand the man proffered, who now didn't bother to name the wand's qualities as there were so many on the counter.

As soon as his fingers wrapped around the wand made of beautiful black wood, he felt a warmth tingle over him in a way that made him vaguely wonder if someone had opened a shade to let the sun in. It felt the same as the warmth he would feel on a warm summer's day sprawled out on a large rock.

He brought the wand swishing down, and golden sparks shot out from the end. He couldn't help the smile that came over his face as a slight breeze moved the hair off his forehead.

"This – one," he proclaimed after the amazing feeling had faded, and he realized that Sirius and Salim were clapping ecstatically for him.

"Well, it seems that Mr. Potter here has a wand particularly suited to Parselmagic," Ollivander proclaimed. "They used to be much more common previous to the eighteenth century, as most require a basilisk heartstring for its core – very hard to find, that. A basilisk hasn't been sighted in Europe for over two hundred years, and I personally have never made such a wand. That one has been sitting in the back for a good two hundred and fifty years – I believe my grandfather made it just before he passed on. It appears that wand was waiting just for you." He gave Silas a knowing look. "This particular one is made of African Blackwood, and the core is, of course, a basilisk heartstring. You will do great Parselmagic with this."

"Don't you _dare_ tell anyone," Sirius practically growled. "If it gets out..."

"I would never!" Ollivander looked offended at the very implication. "Customer confidentiality and all," he winked at Silas. "Now, from what I understand, wands for Parselmagic do very well in that area, but are rather a struggle in others where the spells are in Latin, so I do believe that that, compounded with having ambidextrous abilities, should be a reason to acquire a second wand."

"Alright," Sirius acquiesced, waving him to go find another wand.

Finally they found a match with a wand made of holly and Phoenix feather, though it didn't have nearly the same amazing effect on Silas' magic as the one with basilisk heartstring did. Ollivander explained that it was the brother of the wand that had killed his human parents, but Silas wasn't nearly as interested in that fact as Sirius and Salim were, if their white faces were anything to go by. Wondering what a basilisk was, he figured he'd find out in books at home after leaving Diagon Alley.

After leaving the shop, they crossed the street to make their way to the bookstore on the other side. Remus had commented that Silas could pick out some books that he wanted to read at home – something that he might enjoy more than the ones he had picked out weeks ago in preparation for his teaching – and Silas, feeling comfortable enough in the shopping center, decided he wasn't too opposed to the idea.

But before they had walked twenty feet down the sidewalk, Silas' ears picked up familiar hissing sounds, and his nose smelled predator and prey alike.

He tensed and slowed his walking, not knowing where the smells and sounds were coming from immediately, but then he saw a shop a few feet ahead that he hadn't sensed when first walking to the wand shop because he had been on the other side of the street. Stupid, weak human senses.

The shop had letters on the window – he could see "W-I-Z-A-R-D-I-N-G P-E-T-S: O-W-L-S, T-O-A-D-S, F-E-L-I-N-E-S, A-N-D M-O-R-E" in block writing; all he recognized were "pets", "owls", "and", and "more". But now he knew what it was that was assaulting his senses.

But there was something wrong. He heard…snakes. And there was the faint scent of them too, right into the store. But that didn't seem right. Snakes couldn't be _pets_ , after all, so why would they be in a pet store?

Sirius and Salim had stopped when Silas did, and now looked between him and the pet shop.

"Do you want to go inside?" Salim asked, waving his hand to the open doorway. "There are owls right inside the door that are used for mail."

Silas appreciated his discretion when he casually warned him about the owls – now that Salim knew that Silas had grown up as a snake, he rightfully assumed that he would be naturally wary of them and wanted to prepare him for what lay inside. It hardly mattered that Silas already knew, could already sense them – Salim didn't know that.

He nodded anyway, and was reminded to use words, so he said "Yes" a bit impatiently and went inside, not bothering to wait for the other two.

As soon as he walked through the door, Sadi tightened around his wrist, and Silas himself had to take a calming breath when more than a dozen owls turned their heads in their cages to look at him piercingly. Several went back to hooting to their companions, but still more continued to stare at him, as though they knew he was prey.

 _They don't know – they can't,_ he reminded himself, hurrying past their cages. _They're just a bunch of stupid owls. And they're in cages. They can't hurt Sadi or me._

After passing the most immediate threat, he came upon still more snake predators – fluffy kneazles in a large group cage; several of what appeared to be normal dogs, barring the fact that they had forked tails; a giant, vulture-like bird hiding in a tear-shaped nest against the wall (it let out a throbbing cry when he passed and he jumped, causing a salesgirl to laugh and tell him it's just because it's going to rain soon); and then a long row of brightly colored birds letting out pleasant tunes, only for another salesgirl to silence them all immediately with a wave of her wand.

There were also some harmless – or at least harmless- _looking_ – creatures scattered in pens and cages throughout the store. He encountered several of what appeared to be something like miniature anteaters particularly fascinated with the shiny coins on the floor of their area – the sign said it was a niffler, and while he didn't recognize the word, it was simple enough to sound out. He saw what looked like large tortoises with jeweled shells, as well as two giant snails, one of which changed from a deep blue to a flowery purple as he passed. Beyond those was a _very_ large pen, which was full of what looked like fluffy pink and purple balls. A few young children were gathered around it, pointing to them and exclaiming to their parents their desire to have one. He supposed they must be very popular. He even saw several mice and rats that he decided could be tasty meals.

He wasn't sure where Salim and Sirius had gotten to, but at the moment he didn't particularly care. He was simply following his senses, which led him to the very back of the store, in a corner that seemed completely separate from the rest.

In the corner, where the sound of the rest of the store seemed to diminish greatly, it was much warmer, and Silas soon realized why, to his great horror.

In front of him were glass tanks of various sizes stacked on top of each other, and a larger tank beside all of them – and inside each of the tanks were snakes.

They were all different kinds of snakes, some he'd never seen before, but several species he recognized. The largest tank had several common adders inside – perhaps twelve or thirteen of them, all different colors and patterns. In the next largest tank were perhaps eight rattlesnakes with curious patterns on their backs. In another tank there were five pythons; two yellow, two red-orange, and one white with pinkish markings. Another tank had three brown cobras, and another one held a single grey serpent that had just laid eggs that immediately caught fire (though it seemed the tank was fire-proofed, as the fire burned out in moments, but this time a different snake had replaced the other one, which had disappeared for some reason). Two other tanks had an orange and black-striped serpent in each that had three heads that were bickering with each other – the heads between themselves, not the two snakes.

And – _oh_ – there was another tank with a familiar-looking brown snake with black eyes that sat curled around her clutch of eggs, and another with green scales and black eyes that looked so eerily similar to him it could've been his twin. They were boomslangs.

 _:What – what are you all doing here?:_ he choked out over all of the snakes' idle chattering amongst themselves. Sadi peered out from his sleeve at the sound of the various Parseltongue around them, and let out a hiss of shock when she discovered the same atrocities that he had.

 _:A Speaker!:_ one of the cobras hissed in delight, and as one, all of the snakes moved to be closer to the glass separating him from them.

 _:Hello, Speaker!:_ Various voices chimed. _:Welcome, Speaker!:_

 _:Why are you all in those…those enclosures?:_ Silas demanded in a horrified hiss. _:Why are you being treated like…like_ _ **pets**_ _?!:_

 _:Because the humans have taken us to be sold as such,:_ One of the three-headed snakes said, in a way that made it clear she wanted to be the one to talk to him, though still disgusted with the humans. _:We have tried to escape before, but our enclosures are firm.:_

 _:Although_ _ **some**_ _of us don't seem to care that we've been confined to slavery here,:_ the head on the right spat bitterly, glaring over to the largest tank. _:They have only ever known life inside of their tanks, because their parents bred like rabbits in the tank and were born there.:_

 _:It's not that bad!:_ One of the adders insisted, a brown one with black and white spots. _:We're given food and warmth and we have enough room and lots of humans stay away from us!:_

 _:I think they're scared of serpents,:_ A rust-colored adder chimed in.

 _:But they try to force us to mate!:_ The female yellow python spat, glaring at the other yellow python. He glared back while she continued. _:As though they could_ _ **ever**_ _force me to mate with this_ _ **worm**_ _!:_

 _:Right back at you, Cilla,:_ the male retorted scathingly.

Cilla ignored him. _:Sometimes I wish I was like Sapra over there,:_ she hissed, nodding to the lone grey serpent surrounded by ashes. _:Then I could be left all to myself and not be left with_ _ **this**_ _moron.:_ She slapped the end of her tail against the male yellow python. He slapped her right back, more aggressively.

 _:I wish you were like Sapra, too, because then you would explode to ashes every hour and one of your eggs would replace you instead,:_ he ridiculed.

 _:You idiot – how could I disappear every hour; I would only disappear once,:_ she scorned.

 _:I can make you disappear once right now and be done with you!:_ he threatened.

As the two pythons continued to bicker, the first cobra told Silas, _:Don't mind them – we all know they'll mate eventually. This is just tension of the sexual variety.:_

Silas nodded vaguely, already having figured that out before the conversation had been halfway through. _:Why do they keep you here?:_ he said in a sad, upset voice. _:Don't the humans know that serpents thrive in the forest, and not in a glass cage?:_

The cobra observed him for a long moment. _:You seem to know much about serpents,:_ he said. _:How? The boomslang on your hand can't have told you much – she is too young to have lived in the forest and with you long enough.:_

 _:Excuse me!:_ Sadi said in an offended voice, speaking for the first time since Ollivander's. _:I have lived three seasons, I'll have you know! I am not a mere hatchling!:_

 _:I thought I was a snake most of my life,:_ Silas explained before either of the two serpents could say anything more. _:I only recently discovered I am a human, and…:_ he swallowed and blinked away the frustrated tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. _:It's a long story. Sadi is my sister; I've raised her for three seasons but now we live with humans.:_

 _:It sounds difficult,:_ the white python said sympathetically, and he realized that she was coiled around eggs of her own, a safe distance away from the squabbling yellow cobras. _:But at least you are not kept in a glass cage the entire time.:_

 _Sometimes I feel like I am,_ he thought vaguely, but then said, _:Do you know how to get out from the cages? How they open?:_

 _:There's a latch at the top of all of them,:_ Another cobra chimed in. This one couldn't have been more than two seasons old. _:But even if we could undo it, the wizards put charms on the tanks to keep us in. We can't even reach to get_ _ **to**_ _the latch.:_

Silas stepped forward and peered at the latch. It appeared very simple – a simple squeezing two metal pieces between his thumb and forefinger, and it could be undone.

He reached out to the latch, and immediately pulled his hand away when something that looked like lightning struck his fingers. It hurt, but it wasn't too bad. But it prevented him from opening the cages all the same.

 _:Do you know how I would be able to get you all out without the latch stinging me?:_ he hissed hopefully.

All of the snakes, including the bickering pythons, silenced and stared at him disbelievingly.

 _:You…wish to free us?:_ The male red python hissed after a moment in the silence.

Silas nodded firmly. _:Serpents belong in the forest!:_ he said insistently. _:Not trapped by the humans! If I can open the enclosures, you could all go out the door and find your homes!:_

 _:Will you get in trouble with the humans?:_ a yellow and black adder said tentatively.

 _:Of course not!:_ Silas declared with a certainty he didn't actually feel. _:I am only righting their wrong – it's not hurting anybody.:_

 _:The humans who take us out for the other humans to take home use some sort of magic,:_ The female boomslang spoke up for the first time. _:I don't know what it is – it is not Parseltongue.:_

Silas was discouraged for a moment when the others didn't know the words the other humans used either, but then he had an idea. He pulled out his black wand – the one Ollivander had said was for Parselmagic. He wondered if freeing snakes from their cages counted as Parselmagic – if so, then this should be easy.

He wondered what to say, and finally decided to guess. Pointing his wand at the tank housing the cobras, he hissed, _:Open.:_

He was delighted when the door clicked open on his first try, and in moments a brave cobra decided to test her freedom and moved to the top of the cage. Seconds later she dropped to the floor, and the other cobras quickly followed her lead.

As the cobras continued to slither out, Silas pointed his wand at each tank, freeing the pythons, the boomslangs, the three-headed serpents, the rattlesnakes, and the adders. The females with their clutches wondered if Silas had some way of keeping their eggs warm, so he gathered all fifty-seven eggs of different species and put them carefully in his now empty wand box. After closing it, he pointed his wand at the box and hissed, _:Warm,:_ and a moment later a dull heat radiated from the precious box. The six mothers, now assured that he would care for their eggs until they hatched and then set them loose in the forest he told them was close to his dwelling, followed the rest of the serpents going free. The cobras slithered quickly past his feet and toward the rest of the shop, the other snakes following closely behind.

As he lifted his wand to free the fire snake, there was a sudden scream from the front of the shop, followed closely by other shrieks and yells. He dropped his wand, startled, and bent down to retrieve it while the snakes still in this section froze, wondering if the snakes that had left first had been disposed of after the bright flashes of light that they recognized from their time around wizards had shone against the wall. Silas was just glad he had kept a good grip on the wand box full of the precious eggs.

As Silas rose to his feet, he became aware of the fact that Salim and Sirius now stood at the end of the snake's section, staring in shock at the snakes littering the floor and slithering from their cages. They raised their wands as one, and Silas took an involuntary step back in fear, believing the wands to be pointed at him rather than the rest of the serpents. Another young shop worker stood behind the two men, and she gave a shriek when she saw all of the snakes leaving or already out of their enclosures.

Before Silas knew what was happening, the serpents still in the area shot over to him and began slithering up his legs and arms. In moments there were no fewer than twenty-one serpents slung about his arms and torso, raising their heads threateningly to the wands they saw as a danger to the human-snake boy who had saved them. Silas supposed they must have sensed his fear when he took a step back after seeing his guardians and their wands. Even the bickering yellow pythons rose as one against the humans, coiled right next to each other on each hip. The three remaining cobras flared their hoods threateningly, and even the three-headed snakes that didn't get along with their respective heads were of one mind in their protectiveness to Silas.

A long, low, hiss emanated from every single snake in the area – even the fire serpent, still in its enclosure, felt deep loyalty for the boy who simply understood and tried to help them. The hissing caused chills to go up the spines of the three adults in front of them, and even several patrons still in the shop heard it by the Fwoopers and promptly ran from the store, screaming to the people of Diagon Alley to get away from the pet shop, that there was something Evil inside. This only caused a certain woman by the name of Rita to get a sparkle in her eye and run all the way from Madam Malkin's to what would certainly turn out to be a juicy story.

"Silas," Sirius said carefully, "What were you trying to do?"

Rather than scared, Silas only got angry at these words. "Ssn-akess – not – in – trapss!" he said, surprisingly clearly. "Go – to – foh-rest!"

"Silas, the snakes are here because people buy them – to be pets," Salim tried to say. "They…"

 _:_ _ **Serpents are not PETS!**_ _:_ Silas hissed angrily, too furious to even bother trying to speak English.

At the sound of the Parseltongue spoken by the child covered in snakes, the shop keeper promptly fainted in terror. Sirius and Salim didn't even notice as she dropped to the ground behind them.

"Some wizards wish for company," Salim tried explaining, not showing how Silas' angry Parseltongue affected him. "And serpents are very smart, so conversing with one who can understand is sometimes preferable to a kneazle."

"Ssnakess – go – _free_ ," Silas insisted. "They – do – not – want – to – be – tuh-rapt! Not – _petss_!"

"Silas," Sirius started, taking a step forward.

But that was all the opening the young boy needed. As Sirius stepped forward, he cleared enough space for Silas to get through, so without a second thought, he ran forward, closing the distance between them and making the two step aside in shock and surprise.

Silas darted through to the rest of the shop, knowing that if he could just make it back to the Leaky Cauldron, he could Floo home and set the snakes around him free in the forest behind the house before Sirius and Salim caught up to him.

Clutching the wand box protectively to his chest, he hardly noticed the shop workers cry out in shock, more than a few fainting at the sight of the child wrapped in snakes of all species and colors running through the shop.

He ran through the narrow paths consisting of animals and pet supplies on both sides, and even the vulture-bird and crups fell silent in instinct to the many poisonous snakes so close by, never mind that they were predators. He heard Sirius and Salim call out behind him for him to stop, but he paid them no mind as his foot caught a shelf full of cans of kneazle food, causing the whole thing to come crashing down behind him.

The front door burst open when he was just yards away from it, and a woman resembling a bulldog dressed all in green and holding a long green quill entered, a camera floating in the air behind her. A cold gust of wind blew through the open door, and every snake attached to him tightened their coils instinctively to get warmth from his warm-blooded body while his hair blew about in his face and in front of his eyes. He, along with the other snakes still around him, hissed in warning at the woman, causing her eyes to widen in true shock and perhaps a bit of fear even as the camera flashed behind her.

Sirius and Salim finally made their way through the maze of a store to see him, and he took another step back, feeling trapped by the woman in front of him and the men behind him. He felt his heart pound fearfully as his eyes darted every which way, searching for another escape.

"Harry!" Sirius shouted, not noticing the woman in the doorway.

"Silas!" Remus called more strictly.

Silas ran down another aisle, pulling him away from view of the three pursuers, and he looked back and forth, searching for another out.

He came out of the aisle to the main center of the store, and now he saw that he was right by the balls of fluff that the children had been gathered around not too long ago. He saw another aisle and moved across the center so that he could get to it, while the serpents continued their long, continuous hissing, feeling threatened.

 _:Silas!:_ he heard Sadi call out fearfully from her usual spot around his neck, and he immediately, instinctively whirled around to see a brave shop keeper pointing his wand at him from across the opposite aisle.

"-upefy!" he heard the tail end of the spell, and had no time to react to the beam of red light before it struck him right in the forehead, causing him to instantly drop to the ground, unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sapra – snake  
> Cilla – old, ancient (this wasn't her actual name – he was using it as an insult)  
> I'm particularly proud of the name of this chapter, because Harry was liberated in that his secrets are revealed but he's still alright, and then the snakes being liberated from their cages.  
> Also, sorry (not sorry) for another somewhat of a cliffhanger, haha…I like to keep you guys on your toes! The next chapter won't have one though, so you don't have to worry. Working on it right now!  
> Thanks for reading!


	14. Reacquainted

**PARSELMOUTH HARRY POTTER CAUSES PANIC AT PET SHOP IN DIAGON ALLEY**

The headline alone took up half the front page of _The Daily Prophet_ , and the other half was a photograph of Harry with all of the snakes coiled about him, heads raised in threat and wind blowing his hair from his forehead enough to clearly show his iconic scar. Sirius couldn't resist the urge to bang his head against the kitchen table. Repeatedly.

"I can't believe we allowed this to happen," he muttered bitterly.

"It could've been worse," Remus sighed. "He could've changed into his snake form and revealed it to the world how he's lived the past ten years. Then people could exploit him for it and end up hurting him down the road. Right now it's mostly just gossip."

"Remus, she calls him a 'possible Dark wizard in the making'!" Sirius exclaimed, lifting his head to glare at his friend.

"Yes, that part is rather bad," Remus winced, knowing all too well the prejudice Harry was sure to face when he went out now. "But at least the shop isn't pressing charges."

Sirius snorted. "Maybe that has something to do with how I _enormously_ overpaid for those snakes and any damage done in Harry's dash around the store." He sighed. "At least he's not too angry with us for all of – that."

At first Harry had been furious to tears when he awakened and discovered the snakes were no longer with him – and more importantly, the wand box full of eggs no longer in his possession – but then Sirius had quickly explained how he had paid for all of the snakes and after they got home the snakes had gone off to the forest on their own, giving the message to Sadi to pass along their thanks. (Sadi had explained that last part.) Then he'd explained that the eggs were being kept warm on the rock Zuri had given him for Christmas, with Sadi keeping a careful, protective eye on them at all hours. Harry had calmed when he found that all of the eggs were faring perfectly well on the rock, though he had been admittedly cooler with them since then.

"Well, he doesn't hate us, so that's always a bonus," Remus said tiredly, and rose to get another cup of coffee.

…

Tracey Carmichael stared down at the newspaper with her mouth agape, shocked to the very core at the contents of the front page.

 _It's him,_ she thought. _I know it is. He has the scar._

"Trace, have you seen my car keys?" her brother asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Devon!" she exclaimed, still staring at the newspaper but lifting her head and waving him over urgently. "Come look!"

"I don't know how you're still amazed by that wizard-magic stuff," he sighed. "It's been almost a year and a half and you see moving pictures every day after subscribing to the _Daily Prophet_. Not so much of a novelty anymore."

"Devon, shut up and just look," the blue-eyed girl ordered, shoving the newspaper in front of his face.

"Whoa," he said after a moment. "I wish _I_ could talk to snakes – that kid looks damn powerful with all of them all around and threatening like that."

"Look at the _boy_!" she insisted, shaking the paper impatiently. "Remember that scar? It's him!"

"Oh, my gosh…" he breathed, finally getting it when he actually saw the boy's face. "It is! His hair isn't so crazy now though – and he's definitely better on his feet. Well, damn…" he trailed off, staring at the moving photograph as it circled an endless loop.

"That's why no one could ever find him!" Tracey exclaimed, stabbing her finger at the paper. "He used some sort of magic to get away! Three years we've worried about this little boy and he's just fine, because he has _magic_!"

"There's more to this story," Devon interrupted her, finally looking up from the picture. "He didn't just magic himself away – he was too…" He searched for the right words. "Well, you remember! He couldn't even _walk_ , and he didn't eat properly, and…well, everything was just very _odd_."

"Maybe he could turn into an animal," Tracey suggested, snapping her fingers. Then she paused. "Can they do that? Is it possible?"

Devon shrugged. "Maybe," he answered. "I never thought about it, but based on how much else they can do…"

Tracey nodded. "Alright. So if he could turn into an animal…hm…well, what if he did it accidentally, when he was younger? I remember when Eddie summoned a bunch of cats to the house when he was seven, so it could have been something like that. So if he's normally some sort of animal, he must not have been too confident moving about in human form, so that would explain him being unable to walk and he'd not act…well, normal."

"You think it's possible?" Devon mused.

Tracey nodded. "It's magic," she said, as though that explained everything. And, being Muggles who accepted the possibility of magic doing literally _anything_ , it did.

"Well, if he was an animal," Devon said, tapping the picture with his finger, "I'll give you three guesses what he turned into."

Tracey nodded and said, "I've got to go write a letter – don't throw that newspaper away."

"Who're you writing to?" Devon asked, following her to their dad's office where the paper and pens were.

"Sirius Black," Tracey answered distractedly, opening one of the drawers. "It said the boy – Harry Potter – is under the guardianship of Lord Sirius Black, Head of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black or something. Sounds important. Anyway, I figure if we want to meet Harry again, we'd better ask his permission. Plus, no one knows where they actually live – probably something to do with magic – so if we expect to ever get close to someone as apparently famous as Harry Potter, we need the permission of his guardian."

"We?" Devon repeated.

"Of course!" Tracey exclaimed. "I'm sure you want some peace of mind about this boy, don't you?"

"Well, sure – but what about the others? Ryan and Keith and…?"

"We don't want to overwhelm him!" Tracey lightly scolded him. "I remember an article from a few weeks ago about Harry Potter – but it didn't have a picture, so I didn't make the connection – and it said that he had been found wandering alone in that forest outside Hogwarts. So clearly he's been living in the forest for a _long_ time. He's probably still getting used to a lot of people around him."

Devon put his hands up in surrender. "Alright," he acquiesced. "You do what you will. Let me know if you get a reply and when we'll go." He paused as she clicked the pen and began writing. "So…have you seen my car keys?"

…

"Remus!" Sirius called from the living room.

"Coming!" Remus called from upstairs, and moments later, he stood in front of his friend. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing – just read this," Sirius said with a slightly befuddled look on his face as he handed over a sheet of Muggle paper that had writing on both sides.

Staring at his friend a moment longer, Remus accepted the paper and then looked down to read it, growing more interested as he read on.

_Dear Mr. Black,_

_My name is Tracey Carmichael, and I'm a Muggle. My brother is a Muggleborn who started at Hogwarts last year – he's in Ravenclaw. Because I love my brother so much, I wanted to learn as much about the Wizarding World as I could, so in addition to many other things, I subscribed to the_ Daily Prophet _. After a year and a half, I have learned that wizards don't have very strict laws about what they can print as fact, as opposed to our journalism. So, I don't take what they say at complete face value (especially when they don't even bother checking on how to spell such a simple name that appears in the article), but I did notice in the morning edition a boy that I recognized._

_Let me explain. About three years ago, I was camping with some cousins and friends, and a naked boy literally fell into our camp. We didn't know where he came from or why he was so dirty and why he couldn't walk, but we helped warm him up and get some food into him. He appeared scared, so we tried putting him at ease as much as possible, but he didn't seem to know much about human interaction. We were two hours away from the nearest town, and seeing as it was already dark, we decided that he could sleep with my best friend and me in our tent, and then we could drive down and contact the police in the morning. We figured that if anyone was missing him, the lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead would be an easy enough identifying mark that he could get to family quickly._

_But, when we woke up in the morning, he was gone._

_I'll be honest, I was terrified. At first we thought he might have gone off to relieve himself or he had gone to find the boys in their tent, but after hours of searching in the surrounding area of the forest, we couldn't find him. I worried something bad might have happened to him, so when we got back into town we immediately filed a police report. Search parties were sent out, but after two days of nothing I suppose they thought we were just a bunch of kids trying to play a prank or something. All of us fell in the 15-17 age range, so I suppose it could have been plausible._

_We didn't give up, though. We all knew we'd seen a lost and confused little boy, so every time any of us got the chance, we drove up to that area and looked around for days at a time._

_Then I saw the picture of the same boy in the_ Daily Prophet _, admittedly looking very different with a haircut and clothes that fit him, but I recognized the odd scar._

_I have heard of Harry Potter's infamy in the Wizarding World, but all I really care about when I look at him is the little boy who came to us in those woods. It would greatly ease my mind – and the mind of my brother, who was there also – if we could just see and visit him for a little while. I understand if he might be wary, or if you don't wish for us to see him while he's adjusting, but I would greatly appreciate it if you would consider it._

_Many thanks,_

_Tracey Carmichael_

"Well," was all Remus said.

"Well?" Sirius echoed.

"I think it would be good for everyone," Remus shrugged. "And if Harry remembers them, at least they'll be familiar faces. And after how hard they apparently tried to find him, it's only fair that they get to see for themselves that he is indeed okay."

"Alright," Sirius agreed, summoning a piece of parchment with a wave of his wand. "Don't tell Harry who's coming, though – I want to see if he remembers their faces. Just say we'll have a couple visitors for him."

…

_Miss Carmichael,_

_I was pleased to receive your letter. Of course you can come see Harry – though right now he insists that he is called Silas. He considers another snake his sister right now, and she is always with him, so please don't be alarmed when you see her._

_As our residence is blocked with various magical wards, I will plan to come and get you and your brother myself, if that arrangement is pleasing to you. How is Friday at noon? We can chat over lunch._

_I look forward to hearing your reply,_

_Sirius Black_

_P.S. I just realized this letter was way too formal – for a second I thought I was sending this off to the Minister (as though I would ever give that pompous git an ounce of respect). I'm spending too much time in political circles. But I'm too lazy to write another one since I'm already done, so feel free to pretend you're the Queen when you read it. *laugh*_

…

It was exactly noon on Friday when Tracey whirled around at a sudden loud pop in the front yard, followed immediately by knuckles rapped smartly on the door. She opened it to reveal a cheerful, rather handsome man with dark hair and striking silver-grey eyes dressed in what she might expect a motorcyclist to wear. Leather jacket, black pants, leather boots, even a day of stubble around his chin – it was definitely _not_ what she expected a Lord to look like, but somehow he still looked good in it.

"I like to rebel against the norm," was the first thing he said, obviously answering the question she'd unconsciously shown on her face. "I'm Sirius Black."

She shook his outstretched hand, and answered, "Tracey Carmichael; it's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," he beamed. "You and your brother ready to go?"

"Yes! Sorry," Devon said, walking into the room. "Was taking the trash out when you knocked. I'm Devon Carmichael." They shook hands, and then made their way out of the house, locking the door behind them.

"Have either of you ever Side-Along Apparated?" Sirius asked them after the door closed.

"No," Devon answered for both of them. "The only magic in our family is Eddie, and he's not old enough yet – still at Hogwarts. We've always taken the car to King's Cross."

"Alright, then hold onto your stomach contents," Sirius laughed. "First timers always throw up after the experience – wizard or Muggle." He happily ignored their dubious looks. "Each of you grab an arm," he said, proffering his arms to both of them.

They obeyed, and a moment later, they were spinning away in a vortex of pressure on all sides.

Devon threw up as soon as they landed, but Tracey took a moment bent over before she succumbed to the nausea.

"Sorry about that," Sirius said apologetically when they straightened up again. "You can only get used to it. Here," and he handed each of them a small blue glass bottle. Tracey opened it and sniffed it before tossing it back and sighing in relief when her stomach settled and her breath freshened to a minty smell. Taking her example, Devon did the same, and then they handed the empty bottles back to Sirius.

"Mr. Black…" Devon started.

"Please, call me Sirius," Sirius interrupted him.

"Er – right. Sirius – I don't see a house."

It was true. The only things they could see were grassy hills, a forest, and the sky. There wasn't even another house in sight that might have been a neighbor.

Sirius grinned and teased, "Magic!" He pulled out his wand from his back pocket and waved it in a rather artistic pattern in front of him, muttering softly a few words they didn't understand, though Devon thought might have been Latin. For a moment, a large dome appeared in front of them, a transparent blue color before flashing yellow, and then a house appeared inside the dome.

Tracey grinned and followed Sirius and Devon to the door. She loved magic.

…

Silas was in his snake form next to the nest of eggs on his rock when the front door opened, so he heard it very clearly, possessing the heightened hearing he just couldn't achieve in human form. He knew that this meant two things: firstly, Sirius and Salim's mysterious guests were here, and secondly, consequently, that meant it was time for lunch.

Silas slithered off of the rock before he changed back to his human form and rose to his feet, picking up Sadi before leaving the room. If there was one thing he didn't like about being human, it was having to eat so often. He had no problem with delicious flavor all the time, but really it was such a hassle when he could be doing other things. Snakes had a slower metabolism, so really he only had to eat every four or five days in that form. Having to eat an average of three times a day could sometimes be a chore, and trying to get out of it was even worse. He hated the gnawing hunger when he forgot a meal, but after Sirius and Salim discovered he'd accidentally skipped a few meals, they had taken it upon themselves to either have all meals together, or ask him when they saw him if he'd eaten yet or not.

He walked down the stairs, musing that at least for lunch they were having sausages. Those were his favorites, though lately Sirius and Salim had insisted he eat his vegetables before they allowed him to even _serve_ his meat portion. He didn't like vegetables, but when he told Salim this, the man had simply laughed and said that no child likes their vegetables, but their parents make them eat it anyway. Silas could detect no reason for this, so he supposed it was just a human thing, never mind what his guardians said about making him healthier. He'd been healthy on his own diet his entire life.

His vision blurred about halfway down the stairs, and remembering when he'd fallen off his broom, he stopped and leaned against the wall to wait for it to pass. He didn't want to pass out again – that would certainly put a damper on his guardians' moods that seemed to be explained by the apparent visitors for lunch.

"Silas? Are you alright?"

Silas looked down to see Salim at the base of the stairs, staring up at him in concern. "Are you feeling dizzy again?" he asked, taking a couple of steps up the stairs with the clear intention of helping him walk down.

Silas quickly shook his head no, not wanting to ruin this lunch – Sirius had said that friends would be there, after all. He didn't want his guardians to feel concerned for him when they should be having fun.

"I – am – o-kay," he said, and continued his descent.

Salim still looked concerned, though not as much as before as he followed Silas down the rest of the stairs. "Alright. Well, Sirius came back with our guests – would you like to go out and meet them?"

Silas shrugged, not particularly caring, but agreeing anyway.

He walked through the door to the front room, and saw a male and female talking with Sirius. But the odd part was that they looked very familiar…

His eyes widened in shock when the two turned to face him at his entrance, and he immediately recognized them from the first time he had turned into a human.

"Ssockss!" he exclaimed, looking at the male who had helped him put those "socks" on his feet thirteen seasons ago.

"Socks?" the male repeated, and he sounded mostly the same from before.

Silas nodded excitedly. "You – ggave – me – ssockss!" he explained. "Mm-ake – mme – wwarm!" he looked at Tracey and seemed to get even more excited. "You – made – mme – ssau-ssage! Yum!"

Sirius chuckled. "And a blessing _that's_ been, that we found something he likes," he said with a wink. "And we have sausages with our lunch, so let's get on in to the dining room!" He bounded into the kitchen with Remus following immediately after, leaving the other three to follow at a more sedate pace.

"We're so glad to see you're okay, Silas," Tracey said in obvious relief, moving forward and pulling the boy into a hug. Silas started in surprise – he was still unused to this sort of physical contact. Then Tracey pulled back and looked into his eyes.

"When you left," she said quietly, "You turned into a snake, didn't you? That's why we could never find you again."

Silas' eyes widened and he pulled abruptly away from her, eyes shining in fear and darting between the two, no longer as comfortable as he had been moments before – especially now that Sirius and Salim weren't there and had left him alone with the two.

"Way to ease into it, Trace," Devon muttered quietly. He looked at Silas. "Listen, we don't really care if you're a boy, a snake, or a goat. We just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I – am," Silas answered haltingly, eyes still wary and nervous, unconsciously clutching Sadi close to his chest – whether to protect her or to draw comfort, he didn't know.

"Well, we're Muggles, so we don't have the same ideas as wizards do," Tracey said suddenly. "And we're not going to use any snake parts in some sort of potions since, you know, we can't make any. I'm sorry; I'm just curious how you got away with no one knowing where you went. Even trained search parties couldn't find you."

Silas stared at them, and after a moment, he nodded. "On-ly – re-mem-ber – ssnake. You – ffirst – hhee-you-mehns – I – ffow-nd – in – foh-rest."

"That's what I thought!" Tracey said triumphantly, and darted her gaze toward the kitchen door, dropping her voice. "Do your guardians know?"

Silas nodded. "Ssome," he said simply. "I – am – sstill – llearn-ing – to – ss-peak. Vv-air-ee – im-pay-shent; don't – llike – llong – con-ver-ssay-tion."

"Well, you're doing _very_ well so far," Tracey assured him warmly. "Especially compared to your silence when you sat with us in the forest." Finally she addressed Sadi. "So this is your – sister, I suppose?"

Silas nodded while Sadi rose a bit from his arm when she was mentioned. "What's her name?"

"Ssay-dee," Silas answered, smiling a bit. "Sshe – iss – thh-ree – ssee-ssonss – olld."

"She's gorgeous," Tracey said admiringly. "Can I – pet her?"

Silas frowned. "Sshe – iss – not – a – ppet," he said, almost scoldingly. "But – yyou – mmay."

Tracey reached out and pet Sadi gently on the head, and Devon pet a little further down her scales. Sadi positively preened at the attention.

 _:They give nice pets,:_ Sadi told him, and after a few moments they both pulled their hands back.

"Well, let's get in to lunch," Devon smiled at Silas. "Don't want to keep your guardians waiting – and we'll eat some sausages for old time's sake."

…

After his initial nervousness was over, Silas found himself enjoying the two older teenagers' company. Sadi had detached herself from his wrist at one point and now sat sprawled contentedly beside the dish that had once held a pile of sausages. A warming charm had been cast on the dish, so it was even warmer than his human body.

Sirius was good at keeping a conversation going when it lulled, and soon Silas learned of how much the teenagers had tried to find and help him. It did make him sorry that they had put forth so much effort, but he didn't regret living the next three years as the snake he had always thought himself to be. So he settled for giving the two an apologetic look and letting them read into it what they would.

Around three o' clock Sirius finally went to take them home, and Silas collapsed on the couch in the living room. Remus looked at him curiously when he walked in.

"Are you alright?" he said, walking over and seating himself in the chair beside Silas' head.

"Yess," Silas sighed, his Parseltongue escaping slightly at the word. "Jusst – tie-erd."

"Was their coming too much?" Remus asked, now concerned. "We didn't want to overwhelm you, but we thought two or three hours would be alright…"

"No," Silas cut him off. "Jusst – gjen-ruhl – tie-erd; no – we…" he cut himself off at the last word, and then corrected himself. " _Rree_ -szson."

"Is it your magic?" Remus pressed. "Have you been doing any since that day at the shop?" He knew that Silas had used Parselmagic at the shop after Silas had explained as well as he could how he'd done it – after he'd calmed down from the scare, that is. Since then he and Sirius had been carefully watching Harry for any signs that it had been too much, but it had been four days and there had been nothing alarming. But then again, Silas wasn't too forthcoming about when he felt tired, dizzy, or nauseated, so they didn't know for sure.

"No," Silas said after considering a moment. "I – do – not – thin-k – sso." He rose to his feet. "I – am – go-ing – to – be – wwithh – the – eggs," he informed him, and then left to make his way up the stairs.

Remus watched him go, wondering if Silas truly knew the difference between normal and magical fatigue, as the symptoms were so similarly alike. It was as he stared at the doorway leading to the hall that an idea struck him. He rose immediately, and made his way quickly to the library. This would require research, but he had an idea why and how Silas was exhausting his magic so easily.

…

"It's because he was a snake!"

Sirius looked up from preparing dinner Saturday night, and blinked at Remus. His friend had been in the library ever since he had gone to take the teenagers back home the day before – Sirius was pretty sure he hadn't even gone to bed. Remus had been too preoccupied to tell Sirius what it was, exactly, that he was researching, so Sirius had no idea what the werewolf meant by his comment when he burst into the kitchen.

"Pardon?" he said.

Remus set down the book in his hands on the table. "Harry gave me an idea yesterday about why his magic gets exhausted, and so I looked up magical cores in relation to Animagi and animals in the library – dropped by the Hogwarts library last night also. Magical cores develop the most between the age of birth and eleven, which is why we don't go to school until then; some witches and wizards might develop their cores the most while they're ten, but it generally seems to even out and grow steadily from the age of eleven to seventeen."

"Yes, Moony, I know this already," Sirius said, stirring the spaghetti sauce in the pan. " _Everyone_ knows that."

"Yes, I know, but – just think, if a child were abused while their magic was growing, like through starvation and such, it would stunt their magical _and_ physical growth."

"He wasn't _abused_ though, Moony," Sirius said, glancing at him as though he were truly dense.

"Yes, I _know_ , Sirius. But if someone was smaller than they should be, their magical cores would be smaller and weaker as well. Not because they're small, but because they're smaller than they _should have_ been under better circumstances. The physical is tied very closely with the magical.

"Now, while Harry wasn't _abused_ , he _was_ smaller for several years – as a snake."

"I don't think I'm following," Sirius said confusedly. "What does he being a snake have to do with his magic? Being able to turn into a snake in the first place would take an enormous amount of magic, so he's clearly not weaker. And being an Animagus hasn't exhausted _my_ magic any."

"Yes, but when you became an Animagus you were fifteen," Remus explained. "So your magical core was largely developed by then – it was a small adjustment period, but nothing too major because your core was already strong. But Harry became an Animagus when he wasn't even two years old, and then throughout most of his developing years _remained_ in that form. So, his magic adjusted to fit a _very_ small body – until he became a human again. Then when he stayed human for a while his magic acknowledged that his human form would be at least semi-permanent and moved to adjust. The only problem is that it tried too fast, or perhaps the spells we've started him with have been too much while it tried to grow, and the fluctuation caused the nausea, fatigue, dizziness, and weakening in an attempt to balance itself out."

"But wait," Sirius protested, having turned completely away from the sauce in the midst of the explanation. "He turned back when he was eight – thirteen seasons ago, he said. And the past few months before he was found he changed back and forth too – he told us that he was learning to walk again. So why is he having problems _now_?"

Remus sighed in relief. "We can only be _glad_ he changed back those times," he said feelingly. "If he hadn't done it at least some times before he was eleven it could have been a much worse reaction than he has now. When he changed, his magic adjusted to be able to transition him between forms and keep it up for a few hours, so it _was_ bigger than it would have been by the time the Weasleys encountered him. Right now it's just adjusting to keeping up the form for longer, but it should have no lasting effects if he just takes it easy and goes slowly."

Sirius turned back to the pot when his nose caught a faint whiff of burning sauce, and turned the heat down. "So, what should I be doing as far as his magical lessons go?" he said worriedly. "Have I been doing too much?"

"Only a bit," Remus answered reassuringly. "Using too many spells and magic, even accidental, pulls his magic before it's ready to be used, so if you just spread out the spell casting a bit more, he should be fine. But he was unconscious for those several days because he kept using magic and remaining too long in human form before his magic was ready. Those days when he was out, his magic was growing more rapidly because it needed rest to do so, and the only way to do that was if his brain activity was lowered – thus, his long sleep."

Sirius sighed. "At least now we finally know what's wrong with him," he said. "I was going out of my mind with worry it was something really serious, but this should be an easy fix."

Remus nodded in agreement. "No arguments here. I'm sure Harry will understand as well and try to keep his constant warming charms to a minimum." He chuckled. "Maybe without the easy use of warming charms he will wish to keep his clothes on to stay warm."

Sirius snorted. "Not bloody likely. He hates the textures on his skin – says it reminds him how much more vulnerable skin is than scales when he feels it more acutely. Though not in so many words." He smirked a bit. "At least we're getting our questions answered better now that we know he's part snake, so to speak."

Remus sighed. "Yes, and I'm sure we'll have many more questions as time goes on."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That last sentence seemed a bit awkward, but maybe that's just me.  
> And if it seems random that the teenagers appeared again, I would just like to say before the criticism that I've planned that since I introduced them. Chapter 3 has a bit of a hint that he's not through with them, so count that as proof. ;)  
> Thanks for reading!


	15. Harry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After the last chapter update, I was able to crank out two whole chapters. Considering that's four days, I felt celebratory, and decided to update again! I hope you all enjoy this one – it's for sure one of my favorites. ;)  
> Warning: colorful language, courtesy of an eleven-year-old

Silas was generally very calm, with a few exceptions when he thought he or Sadi was in danger or when someone he loved was insulted. He had a very firm grip on his emotions and reactions to them, especially for an eleven year old. He really saw no point in being a hothead, because what was there to gain from being angry or frustrated all the time? Having emotions so close to the surface all the time would certainly be detrimental when hunting required a great deal of patience to be productive. He prided himself on his ability to remain calm even in the face of provocation – something he'd practiced in the face of Sierra the snake's gossip and rather frequent lies.

But he was done being level-headed.

He had tried hard in the beginning to learn all that he could about humans – their mannerisms, their customs, the way they moved and wordlessly communicated with each other, how to write and read, and most importantly, how to _speak_. He had been taught magic with the special sticks – wands – as well, and then acquiesced to his guardians' wishes that he slow down in his magic casting, after the workings of his magical core was explained to him. He had learned their rules, like always wearing clothes, using silverware at mealtimes, eating three meals a day including fruits and vegetables, and being polite to people he didn't know, frequently having to bite back the honest comments that sprang up in his mind. He had gotten better at walking and even began running when he could, and fell down hardly at all anymore.

One rule he was unaware of as yet however was respecting and obeying his parental figures.

Sueva hadn't _really_ been a parent, and she wasn't treated as such. He loved her of course, but he never really had to follow any sort of rules like humans had about life. She had requested that he do things of course, and had argued her point to him more than once, but really he had always made the final decision when it only affected him. If he thought she was right, he would obey, but if he didn't, she had no real authority to make him. An outsider might say she was more like a friend who was older and wiser than him, but he had no obligation to do as she said. His relationship with Sadi was much the same, just with their roles reversed.

And one day in late January, when Silas was having a particularly hard time in his reading with Remus, he decided that he was done.

He didn't _want_ to learn reading and speaking anymore – he got on just fine now to communicate, however slower than most people it was. He was tired of Salim's encouragements to continue on and keep trying, and as the lesson wore on, he gradually grew more and more frustrated. Sirius occasionally threw in a comment or a word of encouragement from his seat on the couch on the other side of the coffee table – they were in the library that day, and Sirius had begun sitting in on the lessons when he got bored by himself. Silas could gradually feel his frustration boiling over, especially in the face of Salim's continued patience and quiet calm.

Sadi could clearly sense his frustration growing, and she lifted her head from where she sat unwound on the coffee table. She was silent for a moment, flicking her tongue out while Silas struggled to sound out T-A-L-K correctly from where it was spelled out on the page. Finally succeeding, he turned the page roughly, causing it to tear a bit. He almost ripped the next page out when P-O-S-S-I-B-L-E stared up at him.

 _:Silas, what's wrong?:_ Sadi finally said.

Silas sharply snapped the book closed, the question finally pushing him over. _:Oh, nothing, just that all of this is_ _ **impossible**_ _!:_ he hissed loudly, startling Sirius into looking up at him, but Silas paid him no mind.

 _:Silas, you are doing well,:_ Sadi told him, unperturbed by his anger. _:Salim said so – I don't know why you're doubting him.:_

Before Silas could respond, Remus spoke up. "Silas, are you alright?" He was calm and it did nothing more than piss him off.

" ** _NO_**!" Silas spat, half English and half Parseltongue. _:I am so_ _ **sick**_ _of having to learn all of this – what's so great about being human, anyway? Why do you insist I learn all of this bullshit?!:_

"Silas, you will need to speak in English for me to understand what you're saying," Remus told him patiently, appearing completely unfazed.

Silas' eyes practically bulged out of his head in outrage that Remus wasn't responding to his anger at all, as though it didn't matter. Without thinking, he chucked the book at the werewolf, but (un)fortunately he caught it before it could cause any sort of damage.

" _Ffuck_ – your – Een-glissh!" he hissed, Parseltongue still strongly showing through. "I – am – _done_!"

"Done?" Remus repeated calmly, tucking the book between him and the couch. "I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific. Are you done learning how to speak, how to read – done being human overall?"

"Done – wwith – _you_!" Silas spat with narrowed eyes, pointing at him and then at Sirius, who had sat up in the couch to watch with slightly widened eyes. " _And_ – you! I – can't – llearrn – all – tthis! You – eckss-bpect – too – mmuch, and I – _can't_!"

"Silas, I am quite sure that you _can_ ," Remus said evenly. "You have gotten very far already, and will continue to make progress, I'm quite sure of it."

 _:Fuck your progress!:_ Silas raged, too angry to even bother trying to translate. _:You can't make me learn all this, because I'm_ _ **done**_ _! You expect too much from me all the time, always pushing, and never accepting me for who I am! I'm not meant to be a human – I'm a_ _ **snake**_ _, and I was much happier there than I've ever been here! But you just want to push that part of me away – and I know you don't like that I'm protecting those eggs on my rock! But you can shove any sort of expectations you have for me right up your anus, because all they are is shit that will never happen! My family is_ _ **not**_ _you, as much as you wish for it; they are all_ _ **serpents**_ _!:_

He raged for several minutes, throwing his hands up expressively and pacing back and forth, occasionally pointing at Remus or Sirius, even though neither knew what he was trying to say about them. He ended with a final " _Hate – you!_ " in English so they'd understand at least some of his sentiments, and then fell quiet, breathing heavily, having said everything he could think of saying. He noted distantly that Sirius' face had gone white at his last words, but Salim was as calm as ever.

"Are you finished?" he said evenly.

Silas glared, but nodded anyway.

"Good," he said, rising to his feet. "Sirius, if you could leave us for a moment, I'll be out shortly." At Sirius' uncertain look, Remus said reassuringly, "We'll be fine. Go."

Sirius left with a last, concerned backward glance to his godson, and closed the library door behind him.

Silas watched Salim warily now that Sirius had left them alone, and wondered if the werewolf's calm were merely a façade that hid true anger underneath. Would Salim now strike him for his words? What did he have planned?

Salim gave nothing away in his facial expression, but he pulled out his wand and conjured a hard wooden chair and moved it so that it faced the wall. He looked at Silas with a firm expression and pointed his finger to the chair.

"Sit down," he ordered.

Silas saw no reason to do so – he was doing just fine standing where he was – so he folded his arms and glared defiantly at the older man.

"Sit _down_ , Silas," Salim said, a note of steel in his voice that said he wouldn't be letting this one go. So, giving a disgruntled sigh, he first reached down to allow Sadi to move onto his arm.

"No, leave her," Salim said before she could move an inch. Silas peered up at him dubiously, fearing briefly for Sadi's continued safety. "She can stay on the coffee table – just go sit down. Your sister will be fine."

Silas scowled, and only did as he was told because of Sadi's reassuring hiss that she would be okay where she was. He sat down sideways in the chair and glared fiercely at the werewolf.

"Face the wall," Remus told him. When Silas continued to stare, he repeated more firmly this time, "Face the wall, Silas."

After Silas had finally obeyed, feeling confused at the odd instructions but not allowing it to show in his expression, Salim spoke again, sounding quite stern.

"You are going to sit in that chair quietly until you can calm down enough for us to talk," he said unyieldingly. "You will be silent; you will not talk to me or to Sadi, or you will only spend longer in that chair. You will sit in that chair, facing the wall, until I allow you to get up. I will Stick you to its seat if I have to. Am I clear?"

Still angry, but not wanting to be trapped with a Sticking charm, he nodded tightly his agreement and furiously crossed his arms to communicate his severe displeasure.

Salim left the library for a few moments, probably to talk to Sirius, but then he came back in and sat at the couch he'd been in before, leaving Silas alone with his thoughts.

For the first several minutes, his fury didn't abate in the slightest. The injustice of being sent away burned within him, along with all of the anger from his attempt at learning everything that came with being human. He stewed in his feelings until a random thought floated through his head like a down feather in the breeze.

_They're trying so hard._

He pushed the thought away immediately, but it only came right back, forcing itself to be considered.

And, he had to admit, Sirius and Salim _did_ try very hard to teach him and make him as comfortable as possible. They were endlessly patient, and while that could be frustrating when he himself was ready to give up, he knew it really was better for him to be pushed to keep trying in those times when he thought he was done.

And he knew that the two of them cared for him. Why else would they insist he eat his vegetables to be healthy? While he considered them misguided in this thinking, they did believe it would help him, and that was the only reason they insisted on it.

And they made him sausages all the time, knowing how he favored them above all other foods, even though he had caught Sirius' wrinkling his nose in mild distaste the week before as he was now tired of them.

And then there had been their frantic worrying when they didn't know why he was exhausting his magic. They'd gone through the trouble of taking him to get not just one wand, but two. And then when he caused that chaos with the snakes in the pet shop, they had taken it all in stride and even helped him get the snakes free, and allowed him to keep fifty-seven snake eggs in his room until they hatched. Even if they _didn't_ approve of it – which he was now not so certain of now that his white hot anger had faded – they had still allowed it to continue for the past few weeks since that day in the Alley. They had even somehow managed to get those teenagers – Tracey and Devon – to come and visit him – not to mention Zuri and her parents.

Silas sighed to himself and wilted guiltily in the chair. After all of that, he had screamed at them and thrown a book at Salim and even told them he hated them, which was honestly monstrously untrue. Even when he'd said it he hadn't really meant it – he was just so sick and tired of it all and it would have been better if he'd been alone when he exploded like that. He remembered Sirius' expression after he'd said that and realized with a crushing wave of guilt that he had deeply wounded his godfather's feelings. And Sirius had always been so happy to see him and spend time with him – to tell him he hated him was just low.

He hoped he could apologize. He now realized that even Salim had been affected by his words – the calm face was just a mask. It could only be a façade, because otherwise he wouldn't have sent him to be alone and think about what he'd said – that showed that he _did_ care.

He sighed quietly to himself and felt tears of grief prick his eyes. So annoying – snakes didn't cry. They didn't have tear ducts with which to do so in sadness.

But he wasn't a snake. He was a human – and it was about damn time he accepted it and did as humans did.

…

Remus watched Harry as he sat in the chair facing the wall. Really, he positively _radiated_ his emotions. It was easy to see him switch from anger to thoughtfulness to guilt and finally to sadness. He was glad that he showed regret for what he'd done and said; if he hadn't understood that he was wrong, it would have been that much harder to teach him.

He hadn't been surprised by the tantrum. As he'd briefly told Sirius when he left the library, he had been rather expecting it and had it all under control. He'd sent Sirius off to make lunch to occupy him while he dealt with Harry, and Sirius had been understandably reluctant to go. After being told he was hated, he wanted to show Harry how he loved him – how he _still_ loved him even if he was disliked in return.

But Remus was only glad that Harry was finally testing his boundaries. They had been together for two months now, and he was certainly grateful that Harry no longer feared them – _him_ , mostly – and felt secure enough to test it.

Of course he knew that Harry was tired of trying to learn all of this, and he did feel sympathy for him for his struggles, but he also knew that the Harry of two months ago wouldn't have dared to yell at them as he had and as long as he had, let alone throw the book at him. He would have kept a hold on his frustration and kept trying.

But all through the lesson Remus had seen his frustration with learning growing – and really, he had been growing more and more impatient in the last couple of weeks, before it finally boiled over.

Which wasn't to say that it didn't hurt when Harry disavowed them and said he hated them, but he also knew that it was just his frustration talking. It wasn't the teachers he hated, but rather the content they were trying to teach him. But just like pretty much every other student in the world, it was much easier to blame the teacher than it was the material. But he was gratified to see Harry droop in guilt in the chair – it would make this talk a bit easier. He checked his watch – he had been in the chair a little more than twenty minutes.

"Are you calmed down now?" he finally said.

There was a slight hitched breath from Harry's direction before he said, "Yes – ssir."

Remus was surprised at the use of "sir", and he absently wondered where he'd heard the title – and what made him decide to use it now. But now wasn't the time to ask. He waved his wand and the chair spun around to face him. Harry kept his face down, so Remus got up to stand in front of him, putting his hands casually in his pockets.

"I recognize that this is all new for you, and that's the only reason I'm not grounding you," he said, and explained at Harry's look of confusion. "Taking privileges away, like not flying."

As Harry's confused expression cleared, Remus went on, "But this is not acceptable for future behavior. I know that this is hard for you, but it's hard for us, too. But we're trying, and we're not going to give up even when you yell and scream at us. You can get frustrated – it would be ridiculous to expect otherwise – but yelling and throwing a tantrum and tossing things isn't going to solve anything, and next time I won't be so lenient." He gently scolded. "Do you understand?"

Harry sniffled, and nodded, still looking at his lap.

"Do you have anything else to say?" he prodded quietly.

Harry sniffed, and stuttered softly, "'M – I'm – sso-rry."

Remus' stern demeanor broke, and he palmed the back of Harry's neck, bringing him close to him in a gentle, reassuring hug and wrapping the other arm about his waist. He said nothing, but Harry understood he was forgiven, if the tears dampening his sweater were anything to go by. He felt his heart practically burst with love when Harry clutched him tightly, hugging him back. Harry had never done that before, too uncertain of his movements, seeing as he wasn't used to the concept of hugging. But now he showed no uncertainty, only a small amount of hesitation before he got the courage to hug him back.

Minutes later, when Harry finally pulled away with a splotchy face and reddened, puffy eyes, Remus smiled gently at him.

"Sirius and I love you more than we can say," he told him. "I think Sirius was hurt by what you said to him."

Harry's eyebrow wrinkled. "But – not – yyou?" he said uncertainly.

Remus smiled fondly at him. "I know you didn't mean it," he half-answered. "I'm not so certain Sirius knows that, however."

Harry rose to his feet and looked between him and the door, like he wasn't sure whether Remus was finished or not. Remus waved him on.

"He's in making lunch," he said.

Harry started to walk out, then turned back and picked up Sadi from the table. Giving Remus a last apologetic look, he left to seek out Sirius' forgiveness.

Remus watched him go with an affectionate smile, and then sighed, turning to gather and put away the books from the lesson. _Merlin, I love that kid._

…

Silas found Sirius in the kitchen, mechanically making sandwiches. He caught the scent of bacon and couldn't resist a fond smile. Even after his words to Sirius, the man still went through the trouble of making a lunch he knew he would enjoy. Although, he noticed with a wrinkled nose, a dish of honeyed carrots was sitting already made, next to him on the counter.

Sirius hadn't noticed him come in, as his back was turned, and he was clearly lost in thought. Silas felt another pang of guilt at his forlorn-looking body language and posture, and moved behind the man, wrapping his arms around him in a hug.

Sirius stiffened in surprise, and then turned and looked down at him. His facial expression tightened in pain but seemed to soften in love at the same time, if that made any sense.

"I – llovve – yyou," Silas said firmly before Sirius could say anything. He was startled himself at the ferocity of his own words, but he realized that they were true, and he had no intention of taking them back or letting Sirius and Remus think otherwise ever again.

Sirius' eyes filled and he turned so that he was facing Harry, abandoning the sandwiches and sweeping him into a crushing hug. "Not _nearly_ as much as I love you, pup."

…

Things after that went much more smoothly than before. Now that Silas was secure in where he stood, he was calmer than his guardians had ever seen him. Even his magic seemed to be calming, lending the theory that his stress and turmoil had been setting him back as far as his core growth went.

The weeks passed quickly, and Silas learned more every day. He still got dizzy sometimes, but those incidents were becoming fewer and farther between. He learned how to speak quicker, no longer hesitating so much on how to pronounce the words. He still kept somewhat of a Parseltongue accent, but he was still more easily understood when he spoke.

They had also been lucky enough to find some vegetables that he truly _did_ enjoy – or could at least swallow. Pickled olives were a first choice, followed by seaweed and then celery. After Salim pointed out that these vegetables were high in sodium, they had taken to making the vegetables with lots of salt. Even corn was okay after that, although nothing in the world could make squash taste any better. But after the compromise with the other vegetables, his guardians no longer found it necessary for him to eat squash – or carrots (blegh!) – and they were cut from his diet completely, something Silas was very grateful for.

Zuri had also taken to coming to visit most weekends – she had explained to him that Professor Dumbledore thought more human interaction would be better, especially with a friend, and that was the reason for the special circumstances of being allowed to leave Hogwarts so often where other students couldn't. Silas personally didn't care _why_ she was allowed – he was just glad that she was there. And he was enormously gratified to see that she didn't look nearly so sad as when he'd first seen her – her confidence in herself was growing, and she began to smile much more often – and even with her mouth open, to Silas' warm approval.

And, while he helped her, she also helped him learn more as well. She patiently read with him many times, even picking out books that were much more enjoyable than the ones used for lessons, with a word and a picture on the page. Zuri's books had _stories_ in them, and while he didn't know several of the words, she was more than happy to read to him while he followed along, telling him stories about talking gingerbread cookies and princes disguised as frogs and little old witches who lived in houses made of candy. He was much more amenable to learning to read after that, wanting to read more fairy tales than even Zuri showed him.

Most of the time Zuri only visited for a few hours on Saturday, but recently, after receiving her parents' approval, she had come over Friday after classes and spent the night, leaving in the afternoon on Saturday. It worked out fine this way – she slept on his bed, and he changed into a snake and slept on the heated rock next to Sadi and the developing eggs.

But before bed each night, they sat in his room and talked for hours, even after Sirius and Salim had gone to bed. Zuri told him about Hogwarts, and all that she was learning and doing there. She also told him in excited whispers of a three-headed dog she had overheard a couple of Gryffindors talking about finding in the forbidden third floor corridor, and said that those were guard dogs, and wondered what could be so important to have such a dangerous creature in a school full of children. At Silas' look of horror, she had assured him that she hadn't gone to see it, and she had no intention of putting herself in danger for something so foolish as some curiosity.

It was one day in mid March when Zuri brought up something that had been on her mind recently, and caused Silas to close up in a way he never had with her before.

"Silas…" she said hesitantly. "I was just wondering…well, why do you call Remus 'Salim' now? I noticed it at the new year, but I didn't think…well, you don't call him 'Shyam-Seff' at all anymore, and I know there's no cure for lycanthropy, so…what changed?"

Silas thought for a moment how to answer before saying slowly, "He is – sstill a – wwerre-wwolff. But – hhe is not a – daan-ger – ann-y-mmore. Salim is – saafe."

"Sooo…" Zuri said in thought, "He's still a werewolf, and he's still dangerous on the full moon, but it's just your perception of him that's changed? You call him Salim now because now you know you're safe with him?"

Silas nodded affirmatively. "Shyam-Seff – is not alll – thhat hee is. Salim iss – bet-ter." He explained simply.

"So snakes change their names when their old name no longer suits them – or not as well as another name?" Zuri clarified. He nodded. "So…why do you still prefer Silas, then?"

At his look of confusion, she hurried on, "Well, I looked it up, and Silas means 'forest dweller'. So, since you've held on to the name Silas, I just thought – well, are you going to go back to the forest, then?"

At this question, Silas suddenly realized that he didn't know. _Would_ he ever go back to the forest? He knew that Zuri needed him – but what about after school? Would she need him then? If she did, would he stay? He loved Sirius and Salim, and wouldn't want to make them feel unwanted if he went back, but the forest – well, it was home.

 _But not anymore,_ the thought whispered through his head. This was his home now, too. He had grown comfortable in it – even _liked_ it. He had people who loved him – people who told as well as _showed_ how they loved him, every single day. And as much as he loved Sueva, that hadn't been her way. That wasn't a _snake's_ way. But a snake's life was what he knew.

But he was learning the ways of a human's life, too…

"I – I do not – I d-don't – know," he said, stuttering worse than he had in weeks in his uncertainty.

Zuri also now had a look of uncertainty in her expression. "I don't mean to confuse you or anything, Silas, I just – well, if you're going to be living as a human – at least for a little bit – then shouldn't you give _yourself_ a new name? One that doesn't mean 'forest dweller'? You don't live in the forest right now, and you could always go by a name that suits you now and then just…change back to Silas when you go back to the forest. If you do, I mean."

Silas' expression had steadily darkened throughout her speech, and after she'd finished speaking he answered back with, "I – am – _Silas_! Not – an-y-one elsse! You – can-not – mmake – me!"

"Silas, I don't want to offend you or hurt your feelings," Zuri pleaded. "I'm just trying to understand. And from what I can see, I think that you've refused to change your name as you have Mr. Lupin's because you're scared what changing your name will mean. You're trying to hold on to your snake in the only way you know how. But Silas, you don't have to be scared…"

Silas had been furiously shaking his head while she spoke, as though trying to block out her words. Finally though, he had enough and morphed out of his human form and into his more familiar snake one.

"Silas, please!" Zuri pleaded when she saw what he'd done. "Don't shut me out. Whatever name you go by, I'll accept you. Mr. Lupin and Mr. Black will, too." He ignored her and slithered up to coil beside Sadi and the eggs on the heated rock. "And I know Mr. Lupin and Mr. Black are still trying to remember to call you Silas – you have to have noticed it, too. But there are names that would suit you! I looked up what Harry could be a nickname for so it would be easier, and Hardwin means…"

But Silas had heard enough. Raising his head in her direction, he bared his fangs and hissed loudly, _:I'm not Harry! Be_ _ **quiet**_ _!:_

Zuri looked startled, but not frightened. With a resigned look on her face, she laid down in the bed. Feeling a bit guilty for hissing at her, Silas settled back down, but he was nowhere near the attitude of wanting to apologize.

"I'm sorry, Silas," Zuri said quietly, just before reaching over and turning off the lamp on the bedside table, shrouding the room in darkness.

But Silas didn't sleep. Even Sadi, wisely keeping silent after their spat, dropped quickly off into dreamland in her section of rock, but Silas' thoughts were too awhirl with emotions to even consider it.

On some level, he knew that Zuri was right. He didn't want to let go of his past as a snake, and the only way he knew how at the moment was to continue with the name he'd always known.

But he knew that that wasn't normal. He knew of many snakes that had changed their names twice, thrice, even four times in their lifetimes. While some, like Sueva's, were alright their whole life because of the reason for the name, some just didn't suit them anymore. He remembered one snake, a well accomplished hunter named Saka, had her name changed to Cecelia after she went blind in a small run-in with a mongoose. No one had thought anything of it – it was simply normal and accepted; tradition. His might have been a name belonging in the first group, but no longer. He wasn't a forest dweller anymore – he was a dweller of humans. He was wrong to keep his name – it no longer belonged to him.

He shook his head furiously. No – he didn't want to think about this anymore. He was Silas – a snake, not a –

His breath hitched in a sob – or at least as much as a sob a snake could make. It sounded much like a stuttered hiss, and it only reminded him that his human instincts were bleeding through with his need to cry. Snakes didn't cry. They felt sadness of course, but they didn't have the proper tear ducts to weep properly.

He couldn't think about this anymore. He uncoiled and sprang lightly to the ground, slithering over to the door and pulling a bit on his magic to get it open enough for him to slip out.

He morphed back to human form to descend the stairs, and made his way to the back door. He briefly thought of leaving a note for Sirius and Salim, but decided that that would take too long, and they might wake as he wrote it and prevent him from doing what he needed to do.

A moment later, the back door slid shut and a green and black snake was moving quickly toward the forest.

…

Silas tiredly made his way back home well after the sun had risen. He supposed Sirius and Salim and even Zuri and Sadi must be worried about where he'd gone off to, but he felt better now than he had in weeks, everything having been forcibly pulled into focus.

He had hunted for hours, relishing in the snap of his fangs when he cornered a particularly unconcerned prey just coming out of hibernation. After he felt well enough fed, he had happened to have come upon a large anaconda just waking from his rather long nap. Luckily it wasn't a species that preyed on smaller snakes, or he would've been dead.

He hadn't wanted to tell the large serpent at first, but eventually he was spilling everything – his transformation as a hatchling (read: child), his life as a serpent, his discovery of his human form and subsequent hiding of it, Sueva's death and Sadi's hatching, then being discovered in human form and brought back and expected to be human. Finally he had expressed his frustration with being constantly called Harry, however accidentally, and how he wanted to remain Silas.

 _:You cannot,:_ the dark anaconda told him simply once he'd finished. He sounded sympathetic, but very firm in his knowledge. _:You no longer dwell with snakes in the forest, hatchling, and it is high time you realized it. If you were mine I would've made sure you ate the prey with the toughest bones by now, and your guardians have been very lenient.:_

Silas cringed at the thought of tough bones being digested – it was never a pleasant experience for any snake to discover they'd swallowed an animal with tougher bones than they'd realized – or just more than they'd expected. It made for awful indigestion, but was a common punishment for the few hatchlings that got raised by an older snake. Sueva had never done such a thing to him, but he'd had enough bad experiences to know what it was like.

 _:But I don't_ _ **want**_ _to be human,:_ he argued petulantly. The snake immediately rapped him on the head with the end of his tail – not hard enough to cause injury, but enough to show that he was displeased with the whiny tone.

 _:So what's keeping you?:_ the giant serpent said. _:You're here now – what's stopping you from continuing through this forest and living the life you've known for several seasons now?:_

Silas hesitated, but the anaconda needed no answer.

 _:You have things to do as a human,:_ he correctly deduced. _:There is no shame in admitting it, little serpent. But in refusing to accept a new name is breaking tradition – something I think you know you should be very ashamed of. If a human is what you desire to be, even if for a little time, then you need a name that reflects who you are_ _ **now**_ _, not who you_ _ **were**_ _.:_

 _:Zuri said that Harry could be short for Hardwin, and Hardwin means brave friend,:_ Silas said hesitantly.

_:Then your friend is very wise. She understands the importance of amending your name to suit you, and I am glad she has called you out on it. Harry would be a perfectly suitable bastardized name for you now.:_

Silas wanted to protest – he wanted to argue how he wasn't a human – he _couldn't_ be a human – but he knew the importance of tradition. And damn him if he was going to swear away serpent tradition, too. Not after everything else about the life he'd always known had been removed and foresworn.

 _:Thank you, Sage,:_ he said sincerely. _:You've helped me tremendously.:_

He began to slither back the way he came, when the large snake said in slight surprise, _:And how did you know my name?:_

Silas let out a hissing chuckle, still continuing forward. He called back, _:Lucky guess!:_

He transformed back into human form just at the edge of the property, and shivered slightly in the chilly wind. Salim would scold him for not having a proper jacket while in the chill outside, and his heart warmed with love for the man.

He let himself in through the back door, and found Sirius and Salim sitting with Zuri at the kitchen table, looking worried. Well, Sirius was pacing, but the other two were sitting, and Sadi was so tightly wound up on the table she appeared almost half her normal size. He felt bad for leaving her alone – he'd never done that before without warning in advance, so that must have doubled her worry all the more.

They all looked up when the door opened, and all their faces relaxed at once.

 _:Silas, don't you dare ever scare me like that again!:_ Sadi hissed loudly, uncoiling at once, but he had no time to respond to her as the other three began talking all at once.

"Silas!" Zuri said, rising to her feet alongside Salim. "I'm so sorry about last night…"

"…were worried sick – and you didn't even bring a jacket?! _What_ were you…!"

"…thought you would be alright, but we were worried all the same…"

_:…and you had the_ _**audacity** _ _to just leave without telling me?!:_

"…and so I thought it must have been what I said, but I didn't mean to pressure you…"

"…and then Hermione came to us, so we've been sitting here for well over an hour, hoping…"

"…so of course I thought you might have just gone out, you know, to clear your head, but then we saw Sadi was still…"

_:…I didn't even know when or_ _**if** _ _you would be back! A little_ _**warning** _ _next time would be nice…!:_

"…and I really didn't mean to, it's just my blasted inquisitive nature again…"

"…but it would've been better for you to even leave just a note!"

"…but I figured that since Sadi was still here you'd be coming back, because you never leave her anywhere alone for long…"

Silas finally raised his hands to motion them to be quiet, not even having attempted trying to speak while the four of them flew into him, in a manner of speaking. They hushed gradually, though Sadi still looked disgruntled, Zuri guilty, and Salim and Sirius a mixture of worried and relieved.

"So-rry – ffohr – the – wohr-ry," he said repentantly. "Need-ed – to be – a-lonne."

"Oh, Silas, I'm just so glad that you're back safe and sound," Sirius told him, coming forward to enfold him in a hug. "If a little chilled…we'll have to get you some hot chocolate."

Silas mumbled something against his chest, and Sirius pulled back to look down at him. "Pardon?"

"Not – Ssilasss," he shook his head.

"Silas…" Zuri started, clearly about to start apologizing again, supposing he'd changed his mind because of her.

He shook his head again, more firmly this time. "Not – Silass – an-y-morre." He looked up at Sirius, who still held him in his arms. Sirius looked confused, but a passing glance at Sadi showed that she was proud.

"What do you mean?" Salim questioned behind Sirius. When he stepped forward, the eleven-year-old saw that he looked just as confused as Sirius.

"Silass – meanss – foh-rest – dwe-ller," he explained. "I am no – llon-gerr – a – foh-rest – dwe-ller." He smiled up at Sirius, finally feeling at peace with his decision – though he was a bit sad, too. "Now I – am – Ha-rry."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you may have seen that coming after he renamed Remus. I promise this scene has been planned from the very beginning, and I'm so glad to finally have it all typed out.  
> Before I receive any hate for how Hermione approached it, I would just like to point out that 1.) she is an eleven-year-old, and clearly not a psychiatrist with years of experience and knowledge on how to approach a delicate situation. 2.) I felt that there needed to be some sort of spat between Harry and Hermione – I don't want it to be so unrealistic that Harry is so enamored with her that he never gets angry with her. That's an unhealthy relationship, be it platonic or romantic (which, by the way, I have still not decided on, though I'm leaning toward the latter with the way this fic is going). 3.) Even in canon she's not perfect. She doesn't approach delicate situations with delicacy all the time, and she's not going to be perfect here, either. I refuse to make her a Mary-Sue. Those fics bug me.  
> Also, I planned from the beginning that he would eventually be called Harry again. That's why I set up the snakes giving names that have meaning, and why Harry had one that had to be temporary. I recognize that thus far the snake names have made a soft or hard 'S' sound, but that will change as Harry acclimates more to human life. He'll be giving people names that start with B in no time.  
> Also, there were new meanings in this chapter, so here they are –  
> Hardwin – (I couldn't do Henry or Harold or Harrison because it didn't fit him, but luckily I found this, and he'll just be Harry for short because I don't want him to have a different name. It's hard to remember to type the snake names as it is.) - brave friend  
> Saka – hunter  
> Cecelia – blind  
> Sage – wise  
> Thanks for reading!


	16. Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, there! I'm in a cheerful mood right now because I'm going to see my family soon! They're moving states and will be about 40 minutes from my university so I'm super excited because I haven't seen them for two months. XD  
> Anyway, you care more about the story than my personal life, so let's get on with that!  
> Oh! Before I forget, I get a lot of reviews about snakes native to Britain and how in my fic I have snakes native to other parts of the world in the wild. So, just to clarify for everyone (and please don't ask me about this again!): I'm ignoring that! That's right – I'm completely ignoring where snakes are native to, because there are about two species of snakes native to Britain and for the purposes of the story and the hierarchy I've created among the snakes, I need Harry to come in contact with more types of snakes through his life, and I don't have any plans for him to leave Britain any time soon. I think the only ones I'll leave out are rattlesnakes and gila monster-looking snakes, because those very obviously look like they should be in a dry desert. (Fun fact: Once when I was camping with a bunch of girls my leader skinned a rattlesnake and later ate it. Luckily he didn't make us do that!)  
> Anyway, now that that's cleared up, on with the story!

Things seemed to calm down substantially after Harry's declaration and acceptance of his new name – even more so than when he realized Sirius and Salim wouldn't hurt him because of his snake abilities. Although now Sirius and Salim sometimes forgot he wasn't Silas anymore, it wasn't nearly the same amount of trying to remember as it had been before. Harry recognized that Sirius and Salim, while had acceded to his wishes to be called Silas, had still always thought of him as Harry in their heads. He was surprised to find that he didn't mind so much anymore.

Although now Sadi was the one trying to remember to call him by the new name – but he knew that she would get in the habit much faster than Sirius and Salim had been able to. After all, she had been waiting for the name change – it was tradition, after all, and he had been the one to teach her and tell her about the tradition from the time she hatched. Now it was just a matter of implementing it.

When questioned, she'd told him she hadn't wanted to push him about it, sure that he would realize it soon enough and not wanting to be caught in his anger and/or frustration. She'd supposed it just hadn't been worth it at the time. After learning how the anaconda had chastised him, she hissed in quiet agreement as well as a bit of awe. Constrictors were something of a legend to little snakes, and the ones that didn't eat them were even more rare – practically to be revered.

He had assured Zuri that he held no ill will to her for what she said, and explained the tradition of giving oneself a name that meant something among all serpents. She'd disagreed that he deserved to be chastised by the giant snake in the forest for not accepting a new title, but she supposed that, like Harry did with humans, it was just another odd quirk of the others' species.

Now that he had accepted that he would be human – at least for some time – Harry was much more amenable to following human rules and customs. He still disagreed with clothing when he wasn't cold, as they could be mightily uncomfortable, but he supposed that forks were a better tool for transporting food from his plate to his mouth than his hands were. After all, it was much easier to lick a fork clean to get all the food off than it was his hands. Eating with his hands, he always had to wash them in the sink afterwards, and he was sure that he could've eaten the rest of the food rather than waste it. It didn't make sense that even licking his hands was considered bad manners – he thought it was worse to waste perfectly good food, but he didn't argue, supposing that it was just another human idiosyncrasy.

Something else that also greatly helped him was the camping trip.

It hadn't really been a _trip_ , per se, but one day in late April the eggs he'd been keeping safe and warm for three months now began to hatch.

Over the course of a week, all fifty-seven eggs hatched from their shells, and began making their way to the forest in an instinct to find food. Harry helped several of them along a bit, knowing it was a rather long distance for mere hatchlings, but not wanting to help too much and cause them to become naïve and complacent to the dangers of the forest. Most of them didn't need or want the help from the bigger snake and his companion anyway, and one particularly stubborn cobra flared his ribs wide when he got too close.

After the hatchlings had gone, Harry was sad. He didn't know exactly why – it wasn't as though they were _his_ hatchlings, anyway, but he did feel a measure of protectiveness for the ones he had guarded so carefully the past several weeks. He worried how many of them might have already been snatched up by a hungry bird feeding its own hatchling chicks.

Sirius and Salim noticed his preoccupation, and one morning, without notice, Sirius came in to his room and told him that they were going to go camping in the forest out back.

Harry knew they wanted to pull him out of his funk, and he was happy for the effort. He wasn't too pleased with a particular rule they set down, though – he had to remain in human form the entire time.

They explained in turns how this trip had two purposes – firstly, so that he could see for himself that the hatchlings were alright, and secondly so that he could have an actual camping experience like most children did with their parents some time in their youth. It wouldn't be the same if he changed into his snake form – it would be just like visiting an old home. They wanted him to experience the forest how humans did.

He begrudgingly agreed to their terms – after all, it would be less than thirty-six hours. He'd lasted longer in his human form – much longer. It was just the fact that they _requested_ it that grated on him.

Thankfully Sadi was allowed to come – not that Sirius and Salim would have expected otherwise, as they told him in confused tones when asked – and so that afternoon, they traipsed into the woods, Sirius locking the back door behind them.

And Harry found that he did indeed have fun. He couldn't remember having fun in the forest in his human form ever before. Most of the time he'd been trying to figure out how to walk, and the first time he'd been scared of saying or doing the wrong thing in front of those teenaged campers. (Although now after having met them all again, he was glad to see he'd never been in any danger with them, even if the other four after Tracey and Devon didn't know he'd been a snake.) Even last time as a human in the forest those two with hair like fire had done something to make him go to sleep and then forced him into the castle with all the other humans around.

But with Sirius and Salim it was different. Even knowing they had no venom, he still felt _safe_ with them there. He didn't have to worry about protecting, because he knew that Sirius and Salim would never take him to a place that could be so dangerous and allow him to go to sleep.

But sleep he did. After more of those s'mores – which he insisted he _still_ didn't like – and sausages – which he very much _did_ still like – they told stories before finally announcing it was time to go to sleep.

They'd crawled into the 'tent', which Harry immediately discovered was nothing like the ones the teenagers had had. There were three single beds against each wall – and it _was_ a wall, proving to Harry that magic was being used. There was a carpet rug in the center, and even a crackling stove in the corner that heated the entire tent pleasantly. He saw Sadi curled up on the far bed, sleeping – she had come inside when it got late and the outside air had grown cool.

"This is – much bet-ter than the – Mug-gless' tentss," he mused aloud. Sirius laughed and showed him around, pointing out the extra curtained-off room he hadn't noticed before that was normally used as a dining room as well as the extra nook with three shelves of books and a comfy chair ("Just for Moony," he proclaimed). Finally he was sent off to bed with a reminder to brush his teeth in the bowl next to his bed, and all three dropped off soon after.

The next day Harry slept late for the first time in his life, as there was no sunrise to wake him up. The tent had been shielded against it, and so he only awakened when he heard Sirius and Salim moving about.

"Morning, Harry!" Sirius said cheerily when he noticed him awake. "Usually you're the first one up! You ready to go find those hatchlings? I didn't bring the extra mice for no reason, you know." He winked, speaking of the mice he'd caught in traps about the house as well as through charms two days previous. When questioned by both Harry and Salim, he'd said in a surprised tone, as though it was obvious, "Well, we have to make sure they're not hungry, don't we? Part of looking for them is making sure they're alright, after all."

Harry smiled and arose, and for the rest of the day they sought out several of the hatchlings to help ease his mind about them. Several of the ones to have hatched first had already noticeably begun to grow in their two weeks in the forest, and were more than happy to accept the free and easy food the humans brought. Even the grumpy stubborn cobra was willing to swallow a mouse before darting off on his own.

Harry settled into bed (his _real_ bed) that night, and fell asleep with a content smile on his face.

…

The weeks and months passed quickly. No new surprises popped up, which Sirius and Remus were indeed very grateful for. It seemed all of Harry's secrets were out, and all three of them were rather content with the way things were going. Harry learned rapidly, and by June he only had a slight stutter in his speech when he got especially angry or upset (which Sirius thought was more because he kept trying to remind himself to speak in English throughout his speech – not because he couldn't remember how to pronounce something).

After speaking, he rapidly learned how to read, and while he was still rather slow, he could understand the words if he took the time to sound them out. His writing was rather clumsy, but after losing his stutter, he had discovered – well, Hermione had discovered – a quill that could take down what he said on parchment. There was one downside – the font the quill wrote in was only as good as the speaker's writing, so it was rather sloppy, but Hermione had told him that it would help once he got to school and needed to write essays in an allocated amount of time. Before then, Harry was determined to get his handwriting under better control, seeing as the quill was more for speed than it was for penmanship.

Remus helped in this, of course, requiring more essays in his studies as time went on as well as setting out work specifically to help him write. (Writing the alphabet over and over again was quickly becoming his least favorite schoolwork, however.) Even Sirius had him write a paragraph or two every now and again about the theories behind certain spells.

The only thing really very surprising in those months was the news that the DADA professor at Hogwarts had disappeared, but Sirius had blithely said that it was really not a surprise at all, considering the curse on the position.

So, the three of them simply…went on. They went about their lives as usual – or, as usual as could be with the three of them and a snake the eleven-year-old saw as a sister. Sirius and Remus homeschooled their boy and occasionally got in arguments as any family does – and then ended them completely _ab_ normally with prank wars and the like. Harry was especially proud of when he used a modified spell that forced Sirius and Remus to move about like snakes, although he didn't really understand the point of turning their hair and/or skin different colors. They found it great fun though, if their frequent use of the spells on each other was any indication.

They even went to London and Diagon Alley a few times, and each time Harry was fascinated once more by all of the things humans came up with. Even their clothes were different when it got warmer – he was happy with the discovery of short-sleeved shirts (and _no_ -sleeved shirts), flip-flops, and even short trousers. They were much less uncomfortable than the winter clothes, and if he _had_ to wear clothes (which Sirius and Remus still repeatedly assured him that he _did_ , to his bitter disappointment), at least he could wear _these_ clothes.

Of course, with the trips out, he seemed to inevitably make the newspapers, whether it was a small paragraph in a Muggle newspaper about a boy shopping in London with a snake about his neck, or it was a front page article in the _Daily Prophet_ about the Boy-Who-Lived getting in a shopper's face with hissed threats in Parseltongue when the shopper tried to remove Sadi from his shoulders. (Harry refused to believe that the shopper thought it was strangling him and had been trying to help – he insisted that he wouldn't let the man take Sadi for her skin, fangs, or any other body parts, _thank you very much_.)

But Sirius and Remus were relieved when the newspapers never got any other personal information about Harry – especially the part about him being raised by snakes. They had told a slightly confused Harry that some people might not like him for it, or take advantage of his limited knowledge of humans and his different view of the world to hurt him. Harry only seemed to get it when Remus spoke up, comparing these people to foxes who would eat the hatchlings before they could get proper bearings and know how to defend themselves – but the need for this comparison only proved their point. Sirius especially worried about the reception Harry would receive among peers – he knew how prejudice could affect friendships in school, and it was already bad enough with the intermittent questions in some of the articles about whether the Parseltongue was an augur to a dark – or _Dark_ – future. Even Remus hadn't seen it to the level it could have been – his secret was still safe from the general public, and no one had known in school, save the Marauders and later Lily.

They were both glad that Harry truly didn't seem to care, though. He said anyone that cared wouldn't be good friends to have, anyway, and he didn't have great anticipation to making too many friends, because if he did then they couldn't be bothered to make friends with Zuri, so why should he be any better than her in their eyes?

After school let out for the summer, Hermione came to visit much more often, and even the campers from before had become rather like friends to him and visited. He went flying with Sirius and Remus much more often now that it was warmer, and he even got Hermione to fly with him sometimes, after he helped her a bit with her fear of heights. (She still preferred the ground though, and she and Sadi were happy enough to keep each other company as well as referee whenever the three boys decided to play some improvised Quidditch.)

They had a great birthday party on Harry's birthday too, all of them and Hermione's parents coming. Harry hadn't even realized that birthdays were a Big Deal until Remus' "party" back in March. Sirius had gone berserk with the streamers and balloons and confetti _then_ , but that seemed nothing compared to his party. Harry was sure that he had more presents than he'd had at Christmas – and that was including the ones from strangers.

He followed all of the human customs and rituals though, including blowing out the twelve candles on his birthday cake – but he was both confused and upset when he didn't realize until after they were blown out that he was supposed to make a wish. Confused, because he didn't understand how blowing out some fire could make a wish come true – and upset because he hadn't known about the human tradition and thought he'd ruined his birthday until Remus told him otherwise, assuring him that it really wasn't a big deal; James forgot every year to make a wish before he blew the candles out.

(Harry was quite positive, however, that the "Happy Birthday" song made the singers happier than it did him. He just wanted to plug his ears at the awful pitch.)

After his party, he learned that Hermione was going on vacation with her parents for the next three weeks, only coming back in time for school shopping before Hogwarts. He bid her farewell forlornly, watching as she left in the car with her parents.

Sirius and Remus looked at Harry and then at each other.

"He's ready," Remus said calmly, though with a definite note of melancholy in his voice. He didn't want Harry to go to school – he wanted him to stay at home, with them. But they knew it was what Harry had been working for.

Sirius nodded, chewing his lip. "He is," he agreed. "I'll just tell Dumbledore."

…

Harry was picking at a bowl of oatmeal – _yuck_ – when he heard a knock at the front door. He waited at the table, hoping that Sirius could leave the kitchen to answer it so that he could dump his bowl in the sink and eat the bacon Sirius was making instead. Sirius had insisted on the oatmeal first, but Harry had been staring at it for ten minutes now and it wasn't appearing any more appetizing, no matter how hungry he got. He glared at Sadi, who was happily swallowing a lizard she'd caught minutes before. He was sure she was bragging, but if he called her out on it he knew she would claim innocence.

"Moony!" Sirius called, pausing at the stove with spatula in hand to make sure the werewolf had heard and was coming down.

"I'm getting it!" Salim called back, his footsteps heard coming quickly down the stairs. "Don't know why he doesn't just use the Floo…"

Harry sighed to himself and slumped in his chair. No such luck, then. He cast a sideways glance at his godfather, who turned to look right back at him when he felt the calculating gaze at his back.

"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking, kiddo," he told him with a mirthful chuckle, turning back to the bacon. "I figured _that_ one out after you clogged the toilet with your cantaloupe and apple slices the moment I left the room."

Harry couldn't help the slight smirk that came to his face at the memory. While at the time it had been terrifying, not knowing where all the water was coming from and with it spilling out to flood around him, now it was rather funny. Of course, even magic couldn't fix the floor after that, and the flooring as well as the ceiling of the spare bedroom downstairs had had to be replaced because of all of the damage.

"I still didn't have to eat my fruit that day," Harry reminded him, stabbing his spoon into the sludge his guardians liked to call food.

Sirius snapped his fingers. "You're right. You know, I'm sure we can make up for it now – we do have some canned apricots in the cupboard…" He laughed at the look of horror and dread that had overtaken Harry's face at the suggestion. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding," he assured him. "I know you hate apricots over all the other fruits with how sweet it is. But we _do_ have some canned pears…"

"Sirius!" Harry definitely did _not_ whine. No.

Sirius chuckled. "Alright, alright, I've had my fun. Eat three bites and you can have a piece of bacon. Just one!" he reminded him when Harry immediately plugged his nose and shoveled two and then three bites into his mouth at once. "You have to eat the whole bowl to get the rest of it." He sighed and handed Harry a piece of floppy bacon when the boy made grabby hands for it. "I swear, one day, I _will_ grow a backbone when it comes to that face of yours." He shucked Harry affectionately under the chin, and they both knew it was a lie as he turned back to the bacon. Harry grinned victoriously, munching happily on his bacon strip, trying to make it last as long as possible so he could ignore the oatmeal that much longer. Plus, bacon was delicious, and who _wouldn't_ want to savor it?

"Harry," Remus said, coming back into the kitchen. "There's someone…"

But even over the smell of cooking bacon and grease and oatmeal and the natural _home_ smell, Harry's nose still twitched in recognition of the scent he hadn't smelled in several months, and he knew before Remus even finished who was there.

He was on his feet and backing away with Sadi clutched to his chest before the thought to move had consciously even entered his mind. He let out an aggressive hiss as the old man with the white hair who smelled of honey and wore even stranger clothes than other humans came in behind Salim.

 _:Stay away from me, Cilla,:_ he warned lowly, distantly aware that Salim looked surprised while Sirius had abandoned the bacon and was now reaching out placating hands to him.

He remembered this man from the first time he woke up. He remembered being groggy, terrified, and when he tried to get away the man had come forward to hold him back, to force him back to sleep, to hurt him, to put him down, to take Sadi away and use them for their bones and eyeballs…well, that's what he'd assumed would happen at that point, and while he now knew those probably weren't his intentions, he couldn't keep the mindless fear that had caused him to bite the man before from rising within him once more.

"Harry," Sirius' voice finally broke through the terrified haze clouding his mind, and Harry realized that even Sadi had been hissing to get his attention. His teeth felt slick with venom in the way that they did just before he transformed back to snake form, and he quickly snapped his control back up. He didn't want the old man to know about his abilities.

Sirius stood in front of him with hands just inches away from him, as though not sure whether touching him would be a good idea. He stood in a way that blocked Salim and the old man from his view, though he could still smell them. He looked up into Sirius' warm blue eyes.

"Even breaths, Harry," Sirius instructed soothingly. "Just like we've practiced."

Harry immediately began trying to match Sirius' breaths in the way they'd practiced in their first "Occlumency" lessons. He still wasn't sure what the purpose of Occlumency was, but Sirius had said that most Animagi learned it while learning to become an Animagus, and it _did_ help Harry calm down and even sleep better. Apparently he had a natural affinity for it.

In a few moments, Harry's pulse began to slow again, the adrenaline fading but not quite disappearing. He nodded several times, but it seemed to be more to reassure himself than it was to reassure Sirius.

"I'm – okay – now," he said haltingly, and wanted to curse that it came out in stutters. _Yeah, that was convincing,_ he chided himself.

"It's alright, there's no rush," Sirius assured him, finally putting his larger hands on Harry's shoulders. "Just keep breathing; no one's going anywhere."

Harry wanted to panic again at the small reminder of the old man, but he forced himself to stay calm, matching Sirius breath for breath. After several more moments of breathing, he finally nodded.

"I'm okay," he said again, and this time he was a lot more certain.

Sirius must have noticed it too, because he stepped back, though he still kept a single hand on one shoulder – for support, Harry supposed – and turned to look at Salim and the old man.

"I'm sorry; I should have given some warning he'd be coming," Remus apologized, clearly not having expected the strong reaction from Harry but thankfully not saying anything further about it. Harry had never told either of his guardians just how scared he was of the bearded man and the old health female – never told how scared he'd been when he first woke up after being found in the forest and was forced unwillingly back to sleep with that potion.

"Harry, my name is Albus Dumbledore – I'm the Headmaster of Hogwarts," the old man said, stepping forward as though nothing was amiss. "It's a great pleasure to finally meet you properly."

Harry was grateful for Sirius being right next to him and said nothing, but he knew who Professor Dumbledore was. Zuri had talked about him before – he just hadn't made the connection between the man he'd bitten and the headmaster of her school.

"Hello," he said when it appeared the man was waiting for him to say something.

The man beamed as though he'd said something particularly worthy of great pride. "I've been told by your guardians that you have come leaps and bounds in your learning in the past several months – do you yourself feel that this is accurate?"

Harry said uncertainly, "I don't jump…"

Dumbledore chuckled heartily. "Oh, that's just an expression, dear boy – what I mean to say is that you have progressed quickly in your learning. Do you feel that is true?"

Harry noticed that Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have this… _twinkle_ about them, and he wasn't sure he really liked it. "I s'pose…" he muttered, shifting slightly to be closer to Sirius. "I'm not supposed to tell people secrets."

"Oh, Dumbledore already knows about everything," Salim suddenly spoke up, and Harry snapped his eyes to him in shock.

"He does?" he said disbelievingly, feeling something like betrayal sting at his feelings.

Salim nodded affirmatively, looking at him intently from his spot just behind Dumbledore. "Of course! He's the Headmaster, so he needs to know about your lesson plans, so that he can be sure you're properly prepared for your second year of schooling."

"My…lessons?" Harry said, now a bit confused. Did Dumbledore know about the snake –

"Even your Occlumency lessons," Salim cut in to his thoughts, and at the look he was given, Harry snapped his thoughts closed in the same way his instincts did for him all the time. He didn't know why he should be practicing Occlumency right then, but he knew when Salim was trying to tell him something, and if the man hadn't been telling him to use his Occlumency right then, he would eat a hawk.

"So he knows you've mastered the first year material," Salim continued with a look of approval at Harry's instant understanding and obedience. "Or, he knows _we_ believe you have. He just wants your thoughts on it."

"Oh," Harry said. "It was okay. Magic is really easy, especially Parselmagic." He supposed that since everyone knew he was a Parselmouth that it would be a given that he could do the magic that went along with it. Dumbledore at least didn't appear shocked. "Memorizing the spells is hard, but I can usually get the magic itself right on the second try. What's hard is reading and writing. I can't read as fast as Zuri, but I can sound out all the letters, most of the time. My writing isn't really that great…"

"I think it's amazing the amount you have accomplished in the eight months you have been with us," Dumbledore praised. "And I must say that if everything I've been told is half true, you are ready to enter Hogwarts as a Second Year on September first. And so, there is nothing more for me to do here than to give you this."

He pulled a piece of parchment from the folds of his robe, and Harry realized that it was an envelope. He stepped forward to take the letter from the man, and before he could even process it, the man had bid Salim and Sirius farewell and gone back out the way he'd came.

Harry looked down at the envelope, and immediately recognized the letters spelling out his name from the many times he had practiced writing it.

_Mr. Harry Potter_

He vaguely recognized the "Mr." as a form of address, and reading further past his name, he recognized their house address printed in green ink. He turned the envelope over and saw the wax seal with an imprint of four animals – even a snake was there! He recognized the bird as a bird of prey as well, and the other he knew as a lion thanks to Sirius and Salim, but he didn't know what the last one was. It looked a bit like a raccoon but also a bit like a squirrel.

"Well, open it!" Sirius said impatiently, and Harry looked over to see him with a big grin on his face. Salim was more sedate, but no less happy.

Teasing them, Harry slowly broke the wax seal, but after it was open his curiosity finally got the best of him and he pulled out two slips of parchment much more quickly.

On the first one his eyes passed over the title and instead went to the body of the letter, sounding out the words.

"Dear M-R Potter," he said slowly.

"Mister," Remus clarified helpfully.

Harry nodded his thanks and went on, "We – are…pleased – to…in-form – you – that – you – have – been…ack…a-kep…a-sep – "

"—accept—"

"— _accept_ -ed – at – Hog-warts…School – of…Witch-craft – and – Wi-zard-ry."

He got no further into the letter before Sirius suddenly lifted him by the waist and swooped him into the air. Startled, Harry clutched Sirius' shoulders until the man put him down with a laugh and a kiss to the top of his head.

"You did it!" he exclaimed. "You can go to Hogwarts!"

"Congratulations, Harry," Salim said with a proud smile, coming forward and hugging him tightly. "All that hard work has paid off. We knew you could do it."

Harry suddenly grinned ear to ear, the news finally hitting him. He could go to Hogwarts. He could be friends with Zuri more – be with her more. Finally he was seeing the outcome of everything he'd done the past several months.

"I did it," he echoed, and then just to be sure – "I did it?"

Remus nodded, a suspicious shine in his eyes. "Yes. You learned all you needed to. You did it."

 _:Congratulations, Harry,:_ Sadi hissed.

"I did it," Harry breathed. "I'm going to Hogwarts."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, yes, yes. Much cheese. Such fluff. You know me!  
> (Yes, I'm using the name Cilla again – you may recognize it from chapter 13. I couldn't figure out anything else better though – and he is ancient. Anyone have any suggestions for a new name for him?)  
> Some of you might be a bit upset at the time jump in here based on how quickly everything has gone in the past few chapters, but I really don't know what else I could put in those months that Sirius and Remus and/or Hermione don't already know. It would likely just be a lot of fluff and situations of everyday life, and I know if I was reading this story, I wouldn't care so much for those chapters. So, if you have something specific you want to see in a oneshot that you think should've been elaborated on, let me know! I try and fulfill all suggestions for oneshots, so there's about a 99% guarantee that you'll see your idea's work posted within a couple of weeks. (If not on here, then on the 'other site' - that's where I post the majority of my work, anyway...)  
> Thanks for reading!


	17. Train

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your kind words, reviews, and suggestions! I'm posting this a couple of days earlier than normal, but I found myself too excited to wait any longer! Sorry that you won't find out where Harry is Sorted until the next chapter, but I think this chapter has enough little nuggets to satisfy you for the week. ;) At least, I hope so.

" _Harry_!"

The small body rocketed into his, and the black-haired boy was glad he was steady enough on legs that he could keep his balance after being hit by the hurricane that was his best friend Zuri. A mere year ago he would've fallen flat.

"Hi, Zuri," he greeted, ignoring the looks and shocked whispers his presence was garnering.

_"Heard he's turning into a Dark Wizard, that one…"_

A passing witch's comment to her companion was heard over the hustle and bustle of the train platform, and Hermione whirled to settle a glare on the middle-aged woman.

"Zuri, it doesn't bother me," Harry said with a little laugh, drawing her attention back to him. Her expression softened.

"I _am_ glad for that, Harry, but – well, it bothers _me_!" she finished furiously, glaring at a mother she'd heard tell her child to stay away from "that Potter boy" this school year. "It's bad enough that muggleborns and even halfbloods are looked down on, but you're…well, you're _you_! They think you're supposed to save them! – they should be giving you a _lot_ more leeway than the average witch or wizard! How do they expect a normal person to react if they're shunned from the moment they step foot in the Wizarding World, and then those same people turn around and expect you to save them from a problem they've created themselves?!"

"That's the problem with the Wizarding World," Sirius spoke up behind them, stepping aside to allow Remus to exit the Floo. "Too much dependency on magic and not enough on a brain. I always said that if they depend on magic to wipe their own…"

"Sirius, really – there are children," Remus scolded lightly as he appeared behind his friend. "Don't think that just because we're in public I won't _scourgify_ your mouth out." Sirius shuddered theatrically and winked at Harry and Hermione conspiratorially.

"Where are your parents?" Remus directed to Hermione, completely aware of Sirius making faces at him but ignoring it.

"Oh, I left them a few meters back," Hermione said with a light flush staining her cheeks as she began to lead the way back to them. "I was just excited to see Harry after vacation."

Sirius and Remus bid hello to the Grangers, like Harry completely ignoring the stares and whispers and even one father pulling his young son well out of the way when they walked past. Hermione said hello to Sadi again, who was wrapped around Harry's bare arm. She noticed he was wearing short sleeves even with his long trousers, and –

"Harry, why are you _barefoot_?!" she exclaimed. It was September, and while it was still technically summer, it was much too cool to wear flip-flops, let alone go around _without_ shoes. His feet had to be freezing.

But her question had caught Remus' attention, and he turned to the suddenly resigned-looking boy with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, Harry, why _are_ you barefoot?" he said blandly, though with a definite look of reprove. "I could have _sworn_ you were wearing your sneakers when we left the house not ten minutes ago."

"Sa- _lim_ ," Harry moaned, and Hermione was privately surprised as well as pleased at how like a normal growing teenager he sounded when he whinged at his guardian. "I just don't understand why I _have_ to."

"Don't try that with me – you _do_ know," the scarred man said austerely. "Sirius and I have told you repeatedly that when you go outside, you must wear shoes – _especially_ when you know you'll be in a crowd. It is dangerous for your feet to be exposed, be it to trampling feet or any sort of litter on the ground that could cut your feet open when you step on it. Now put your shoes back on."

"What if I used my magic to make sure that a big wind blew away anything that would hurt my feet," Harry offered in the same hopeful way that all kids did when they knew it was futile to argue further but did anyway. "Then could I be barefoot when there _aren't_ a lot of people around?"

" _Harry_ ," Remus said sternly, putting his hands on his hips.

Harry sighed and grumbled, but he pulled a pair of flip-flops out of his pocket and bent down to put them on his feet. When he straightened with a triumphant smile, Remus was still giving him that _do-as-I-say_ look that all parents perfect as soon as their child learns how to argue with them.

"What?" Harry said indignantly. "They're shoes!"

Turning quickly back to Hermione, he began talking with her about his trip to Diagon Alley before Remus could argue his point any more.

But Remus just sighed, shook his head, mentally pleaded "heaven help me" to the skies, and turned back to the conversation with Sirius and the Grangers, who had politely gone deaf during the small confrontation.

Harry was just finishing telling how Gilderoy Lockhart had given a little shriek of terror when he saw him in the book shop when the whistle for the train blew, signaling five minutes till departure.

Hermione jumped and grabbed Harry's arm. "Oh my goodness, I didn't even think to go ahead and save us a seat! Come on, Harry! We've only got a trunk each; this will be easier than all the kids with owl cages wanting to get through. Mum, Dad – we'll be back to say goodbye in a minute."

They quickly found an empty compartment and set their trunks on the ground in a way that would clearly claim the compartment as taken before heading back out and finding their parents again.

Sirius and Remus engulfed Harry in a hug at the same time, and he wrapped his arms around them, breathing in the scent that had first been terror-inducing when he first met them but was now the most comforting smell he knew.

"I'll miss you two," he told them honestly, feeling a stinging in his eyes at the thought of not seeing them till Christmas. Even now it startled him at times how much he'd grown to care for them, especially because less than four seasons ago he hadn't even known them, and he was so scared of them at first. Now he was glad to know that the two of them cared deeply for him and had no intention of ever trying to hurt him or make him unhappy. And it was that knowledge that allowed him to so fiercely love them back.

"We'll miss you too," Sirius said, both still hugging him. "But remember the mirror we gave you – say our name, and we'll be right there."

Harry nodded against Salim's chest, not saying anything for fear that the tightness in his chest would give way for tears.

"And if it's ever too much," Remus reminded him, "You just say the word and we can take you home, no questions asked."

Harry nodded and pulled away, sure now that he wouldn't start crying, but he knew that nothing really could stop him from staying at Hogwarts. It was where Zuri was, and he wanted to protect her from the bullies. He couldn't do that from home, as much as he wished he could stay with Sirius and Salim.

The train horn hooted again, and the students began running toward the train with shouts of farewell to their parents.

"Enjoy yourself," Sirius told him. "We love you – we'll talk to you tonight, after the feast, and after you're Sorted."

Harry nodded. "I love you, too," he told them. "Both of you. I'll miss you!"

With these parting words, he ran off to where Hermione waited at the train door, jumping on just as the train began to move. He and Hermione made their way to the compartment they had left their trunks in, expecting it to be empty.

But it wasn't.

Sitting on the far side of a bench, next to the window, was a rather chubby boy with an uncertain expression and two large front teeth. They weren't as proportionally large as Zuri's, but Harry could still tell the difference. Zuri tensed just slightly beside him, so Harry's hackles immediately went up, never mind that the boy didn't smell dangerous or particularly extraordinary. Actually, he smelled rather soothing, like plants, but if Zuri didn't like him, then Harry wouldn't like him either.

"Oh – Hermione," the boy said, and looked uncertainly at Harry, who had instinctively bared his fangs at the boy, even though in this form he didn't actually _have_ fangs, so it probably looked more strange than it did menacing. "I – well, I couldn't find Ron or Dean or Seamus, and I saw your name on one of the trunks, so I thought…should I leave?" He was now looking somewhat frightened at Harry, who had begun to hiss very quietly, almost inaudibly but enough to make the hairs on the other boy's arms stand up. Sadi, in response, rose her head from his arm to give exactly the kind of threatening look Harry had been aiming for, and was pulling it off much better. Harry's mumbled "show off" in Parseltongue was what caused the boy to think maybe it wasn't the best place to be and cut himself off.

"No – Neville, stay," Hermione said, laying a hand on Harry's arm to assure him it was alright. "I'm sorry – it's just that usually where there's you, there are _those_ three, and I'm really not in the mood to encounter them right now. Harry's just…protective." They made their way inside the compartment so that they could close the door behind them, Harry keeping his eyes on Neville the entire time.

Harry and Hermione moved their trunks to the racks overhead while Sadi followed Harry's hissed instructions to watch the nervous boy to make sure he didn't do anything while their backs were turned. Then they sat down in the bench across from Neville, who continued to fidget under Harry's stare.

"Neville, this is Harry Potter," Hermione introduced. Neville squeaked out a hello. Harry said nothing – his hard stare was enough. "Harry, this is Neville Longbottom. He's really good at Herbology – we pair up sometimes when one of the other Gryffindor boys is sick."

"Are you a bully?" Harry asked abruptly. Ignoring Hermione's exasperated "Harry!" He pressed when the boy didn't answer quick enough for his liking, "Well? Are you?"

"I – I don't think so," Neville stammered. "I don't – "

"You don't know?" Harry cut him off. " _How_ can't you know? Don't you know yourself? Do you pick on others or not?"

"No!" Neville protested.

"No?" Harry repeated, as though doubting him.

"Harry, Neville is about as far from a bully as you can get," Hermione cut in exasperatedly. "He's nice to _everyone_."

At Hermione's word and Neville's protested innocence, Harry instantly relaxed, causing Sadi to relax her threatening pose as well. "Okay. Hello, Xylon."

Neville looked relieved that the hard glare was no longer focused on him, but also confused at the sudden change in attitude as well as the newly-dubbed name.

"Xylon?" he said uncertainly.

"You smell of the forest," Harry nodded as though this explained all while Sadi moved to curl about his neck for a short nap.

Hermione sighed and explained at Neville's continued confusion. "Harry gives people names that he thinks are better suited to them than their own. It can change depending on circumstances."

"Like what circumstances?" Neville asked curiously, nervousness beginning to fade now that Harry didn't appear angry.

"Like losing your eyes and going blind," Harry said matter-of-factly. Neville tittered nervously, but neither of them joined in.

"I'm excited for this year, aren't you?" Hermione said, completely changing the subject in an attempt to make it less awkward. "That Gilderoy Lockhart is going to teach us so much as our teacher – he's done so many amazing things!"

"I don't think so," Harry disagreed. "He screamed when he saw me in the book shop. I didn't bother buying all his books after that – they're probably not true."

"Harry!" Hermione disapproved. "Those are our school books – they're on the required list!"

"Salim said it was okay to skip them!" Harry defended.

"Well, if Mr. Lupin agreed…" Hermione allowed reluctantly, knowing of the man's view on the importance of books and learning.

"They do read like story books rather than text books," Neville volunteered quietly, still a bit nervous, uncertain whether or not Harry would interrogate him again. "And it's not right for him to require his whole series as part of the school books – they're really expensive for those who don't have a lot of money, and it's a conflict of interest on his part."

"I suppose you're right about that," Hermione said slowly, thinking about it. "It really isn't fair for him to require about a thousand students to purchase his entire series – that only benefits him, especially if normal textbooks truly _are_ better."

They quietly pondered this, and Harry decided once again that he really wasn't going to like this Gilderoy Lockhart. It wouldn't be such a big deal if every single student going to Hogwarts had a great wealth of money, but he knew that was impossible. After learning the concept of money to pay for things, even food, Harry found this Lockhart particularly offensive. This man was putting money in his own pockets that was taking from poorer families, and Harry was quite certain he wasn't at risk of starving to need those extra hundreds or even thousands of galleons that the book sales would generate.

Right then and there, Harry decided that he would take on another mission at Hogwarts: he was going to discredit Lockhart.

Before he could properly consider how he would go about doing so, the door to their compartment suddenly slid open, and Harry's nose was assaulted by the smell of hair gel from one entrant and sugar and sweat from the two behind him. He looked up to see the face of a sneering male with slicked back white-blond hair and the palest skin Harry had ever seen. He didn't have to examine the boys behind him to know that they were something like protectors for the thin boy.

"They're saying up and down the train that Harry Potter is in this compartment," he drawled, heedless of Harry's hackles rising in response to Hermione. She'd tensed worse than when she saw Xylon, and Harry immediately knew without having to ask that these boys were indeed bullies.

"So?" the blond went on, staring at Harry. "That's you, isn't it?"

"Yes, I am," Harry said with steel in his voice.

The male appeared smug with his response. "I thought so. I'm Malfoy – Draco Malfoy. You'll soon find that there are some witches and wizards who are better than others. You don't want to go consorting with the _wrong_ sort." His snide gaze to Hermione and Neville clearly showed what he considered 'the wrong sort', and Harry's lips tightened in hatred for the boy – and that was _before_ he continued.

"I know you don't know a lot about living with the _right_ sort after living in the forest," His condescending tone and sneer showed exactly what he thought of those accommodations. "So, I've graciously decided I will help you assimilate in the best way possible."

"You want to help me," Harry said flatly, his eyes smoldering pools of green.

Malfoy already looked like a cat that had swallowed the canary, as the saying went, sure that he had him already. "Yes," he said simply. "Starting with getting away from _them_." His tone held disgust but he kept his gaze on Harry.

"Malfoy, get out of here," Hermione said evenly, not wanting Harry to do…whatever he planned to do. He'd made it quite clear with Neville that she was under his protection, and while she was by no means a damsel in need of saving, she wasn't sure Harry knew that. And she was quite certain that snakes had a different way of communicating displeasure than people did, and it was likely a lot more violent than the average person's response. Especially if you took into consideration the words that he'd just said.

But Malfoy didn't even glance her way, much less heed her words. "Shut it, mudblood, I wasn't talking to you." He dismissed.

Harry didn't know what "mudblood" meant, but he could instantly see that by saying it, this "Draco Malfoy" had committed a particularly grievous offence. He could practically feel Zuri's distress beside him, but it was Xylon who had the biggest reaction.

"How dare you, using such a vile word!" he exclaimed angrily, starting forward with wand drawn. One of the large males behind Malfoy immediately stepped forward and landed a punch in Xylon's stomach, knocking him to the ground. Zuri shrieked and dropped next to him to make sure he was alright. Harry could hear his labored breathing, but he seemed alright, so Harry wasn't concerned about him. But the thing that concerned him was that Zuri might get punched the same way Xylon had. The quickest way to get rid of that possibility was to get rid of the threatening males.

"Leave," Harry hissed at them, fire blazing in his eyes.

Malfoy appeared affronted. "I don't think we will," he said rudely. "You see, you don't have any power here. You've just chosen the wrong sort, and you'd do well to watch your back, or you'll meet the same sticky end as your parents."

"You are the one with no power here, Sully," Harry said threateningly. "You have just threatened a snake. And one thing about snakes"—he felt his teeth slickening with venom while Sadi rose uncalled from under his collar, causing Sully's eyes to widen in alarm—"we don't forgive such things."

_:Sadi, bite him!:_

Without asking questions, Sadi obeyed, springing from his neck with lightning speed and closing her fangs with a snap around the boy's hand.

Draco gave a very undignified shriek at the sudden attack and the pain now radiating up his arm as the venom began to spread. He fell back into Crabbe and Goyle while shaking his hand frantically, trying to dislodge the awful creature from his hand. Finally it opened its jaws again and was flung into the lap of the mudblood, who didn't fear it at all and was now cradling it to make sure the vile thing was alright.

His father would hear about this, and he would make that snake as well as bloody Potter _pay_! He glared up at the scarhead, and immediately wished to leave. Apart from the look of hatred that the Golden Boy should not be capable of, his eyes seemed to have taken on snakelike qualities – surely it must be his imagination, brought on by the venom of the blasted snake, that made his pupils appear slitted in an obviously reptilian fashion.

"Get out," Potter seemed to hiss, stepping forward. At that look, Draco's Slytherin self-preservation instincts kicked in and without a word, he high-tailed it out of there. Crabbe and Goyle followed him, and after they were a safe distance away, he ordered them to find the conductor to get a counteractive potion for the venom. Dropping back into their compartment, he lied down as he began to feel woozy, and wondered how on earth the day had already gone so horribly wrong.

…

Back in their compartment, Neville was silent, but Hermione immediately lit into Harry.

"Harry! I know that Malfoy is despicable, but you can't just go around having Sadi bite people who are rude!"

Harry though, saw no problem with this – he was more concerned with Zuri's anger at him, which he thought was unwarranted. "I did nothing wrong," he said simply. "His guard attacked Xylon, and he verbally assaulted you. I'm not going to slither back and watch you be bullied, especially by the likes of him."

"Harry, that's sweet of you – really." Zuri said flatly. "But we're still hours away from Hogwarts – what if the conductor doesn't have the right potion to counteract Sadi's venom?!"

Harry was still unconcerned with this. "He won't die," he said indifferently, picking up his sister from Zuri's hands and letting her curl about his neck again for a much-deserved rest that had already been interrupted by the arrival of the awful boys. "Boomslang venom is very slow-acting. Even though we have a long time left of the journey, the conductor will at least know a spell to stop the venom from mortally injuring him. If that's the case, he'll just be unable to get up without feeling very sick for the rest of the train ride. I'm sure that after we arrive, Slaine will have him back to normal by morning. Now he'll think before stepping in a snake's den."

"Harry, you could get in huge trouble for this," Zuri was distressed, but Harry still didn't understand.

"I don't think so," he said, finding a flaw in her logic. "After all, _I_ wasn't the one to bite him. And Cilla doesn't want me to leave Hogwarts, so he's not going to make Sadi leave either."

"How do you know Professor Dumbledore doesn't want you leaving Hogwarts?" Zuri stuck on the part confusing her.

Harry thought. "Well, he didn't say so outright," he mused, "But you can just tell. If you saw how he was when he gave me my letter, you would understand too. And when I first came…" He snapped his mouth shut, and Hermione thought she must have imagined the flash of fear that crossed his face, for it was gone a second later. "He was very insistent."

" _Professor Dumbledore_ is the one who brought you your letter?" At Harry's nod, she said, "Okay, I believe you. I can't believe the Headmaster of Hogwarts could have so little to do that he would do something like bringing someone their Hogwarts letter – that's usually sent by owl, or for Professor McGonagall to do, as Deputy Headmistress."

"Are you alright now?" Harry asked her, wondering if she was still upset.

She sighed. "Well, I still don't think you should make a habit of getting Sadi to bite people who anger you, but yes – I'm alright now."

Harry nodded, satisfied. "Good," he said, before turning to Xylon, who had been silent ever since getting punched and had watched the byplay between the two. "I must thank you, Xylon – even though your words have no physical effect on bullies, it does show that I previously misjudged you. Thank you for standing up for Zuri here, even when you had to have known you would lose."

The boy wasn't sure whether that should be taken as a compliment or an insult, so he just shrugged and mumbled, "It was nothing – Hermione always does the same for me, too."

Harry hadn't been paying too much attention to Xylon's words after saying his piece, but he suddenly sharpened his attention to focus on the boy after his last words.

"Do other people bully _you_ as well, Xylon?" he said firmly. The boy was surprised at the tone, and even more at the question.

"Er – I – I'm alright," he stammered. "I'm not…"

"It's not a matter of whether or not you're alright," Harry said sharply. "It's a matter of whether or not people _do_."

"I – I suppose," Xylon stammered. "I don't – my friends…"

But Harry didn't need to hear any more. He'd already made his decision.

"You are now under my protection," he declared. "Anyone bullying you will reach the same outcome as Sully."

"You would – but why?" the chubby boy was flabbergasted at the acceptance of a near stranger. He didn't understand why the Boy-Who-Lived – a boy the media had recently been questioning the morals of – would or _could_ take a boy he hardly knew under his wing.

"You defended Zuri, even knowing you would fail," Harry said, not with disregard to his feelings, but rather with complete honesty. "Even after being bullied by these same vile people, you didn't hesitate to respond without forgiveness, even though Zuri says you're kind to everyone. Zuri, Gryffindor is the House for courage and bravery, right?" At Zuri's nod, he looked back to Xylon. "You are an honor to Gryffindor, no matter what anyone else tries to say."

He was startled when the boy suddenly jumped toward him, and he almost hissed defensively before it processed that the boy was now hugging him. After a moment, he hugged him back a bit hesitantly, surprised and wondering what he'd done to make the other want to embrace him.

"Thank you, Harry," the boy said, his voice sounding thick. "It really means a lot that you said that."

Harry patted him and Xylon sat back in his seat, looking peaceful and happy. Harry was alarmed when he glanced over and saw Zuri's eyes sparkling with tears, but she waved him off.

Neville, unaware of this byplay between the other two, simply sat back and enjoyed the warm, happy feeling inside.

He had been ready for a Dark Harry Potter arriving at Hogwarts and taking over the purebloods in Slytherin as their leader, likely replacing Malfoy – and later, Lord Voldemort as the Wizarding World's new Dark Lord. He had also been prepared for a Light Harry Potter, Sorted into Gryffindor and becoming best friends with Ron Weasley, epitome of what the purebloods referred to as a "blood traitor", likely shunting Neville to the side even more than he already was in their year's Gryffindors, and then going on to work with Dumbledore to destroy the surely still alive Lord Voldemort. He had even considered the possibility of a neutral Harry Potter, who didn't care a whit about the war he'd known nothing about as he'd grown up in the forest.

What he had been completely unprepared for was a Harry Potter who was so far none of the above, but rather a defender of the bullied – already clear as he defended Hermione Granger, probably the most disliked and bullied person of the younger four years. He was of course unaware of Harry's plans for Voldemort, but he was sure he wouldn't be supporting him – the bastard was probably the biggest bully in living memory. In any case, he was practically glowing that Harry had accepted _him_. Acceptance from Harry Potter was something he'd never even considered, much less the possibility of friendship. And now that he had it, he was determined to do nothing that would jeopardize that.

…

They pulled into Hogsmeade Station later that night, around the time Harry was beginning to feel hungry again. Oh, how he longed for his snake form, where he wouldn't feel this hungry unless he went a couple of _weeks_ without food, and not just a few hours. He'd gotten excited when the snack trolley came by around midday, but he was disgusted to find only sugary candies available. So, he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast that morning – and even that wasn't a lot, as he had been too excited to swallow much more than a couple of slices of ham. Luckily Zuri had told him that he would have access to any foods he could think of at the Welcome Feast that night, so he had something to look forward to.

He was of course dissatisfied with the fact that he had to wear robes over his normal clothes as well, as part of the Hogwarts uniform, but after exiting the train and feeling the cool breeze, he was glad for the extra warmth. He felt Sadi's coils tighten about his neck for a moment as she too felt the slight chill.

"Firs' years! Firs' years an' Harry Potter, over 'ere!"

Harry's attention focused on a giant man with a large beard when he heard the man call his name. He took an instinctive step back, as the man appeared twice and even three times taller than most of the students. Harry had never seen anyone so large.

"Oh, that's Hagrid, Harry," Zuri told him. "He's like a giant teddy bear – totally harmless."

"Teddy bear?" Distractedly, Harry's brain latched onto the thing he couldn't understand.

"Oh, it's – a plush toy," Zuri explained. "Children commonly go to bed with them for comfort – they're good to hug."

Harry still didn't understand, but he let it pass.

"Firs' years an' Harry Potter!" The call came again as students began shuffling through the crowd to get to the large man. Several students were muttering about Harry Potter, wondering if he was really there.

"Go on, Harry – I'll see you after the Sorting," Zuri nudged him toward the man.

Harry instantly whirled to look at her with wide eyes. "You're leaving?" he said, distressed.

"Well, I have to go up to the carriages with the rest of the Second Years," Zuri explained. "The first years go in boats across the lake, and go to a separate room before they're Sorted. Everyone else will be in the Great Hall when you come in."

Harry didn't hear the second part of her explanation – the first part had his eyes widening in panic. "Lake?" he repeated in a higher voice than normal. "We have to go across deep water?!"

Land snakes were born with an innate fear of the water – it was literally impossible for them to ever learn to swim.* And while he now knew he wasn't all snake, he couldn't rid himself of that innate fear.

"You'll be alright, Harry," Zuri hastened to assure him. "The only way to get out of those boats is to purposely _try_. If you sit normally, it will keep you inside. You'll be fine." She could clearly see that Harry wasn't losing any of his fear and panic, and the crowd at the station was beginning to thin, so she made an easy decision. Neville had already gone up to the carriages, but he likely wasn't expecting them to follow. He'd heard Hagrid calling for Harry, and she certainly wouldn't be welcomed in the same carriage as the other Gryffindor boys in their year.

"I'll come with you," she decided, and took his hand to lead him to the large man, who was waiting patiently for them, having clearly seen and identified him after the crowd had thinned. "I'm a trained junior lifeguard – if there's any trouble, I'm sure I can get you to safety."

Harry was enormously relieved by this arrangement, and it showed. "You must save Sadi first," he said, deducing what a lifeguard must be based on its name.

"You just tell Sadi to stay attached to you, because like hell am I going to choose between you two," Hermione told him in no uncertain terms, and looked up as she approached Hagrid.

"I'll be coming with Harry, Hagrid – I hope that's alright," Hermione told him respectfully, not bothering to elaborate that if it wasn't alright, she'd be going anyway.

Hagrid looked down at the boy who had his hand clenched fearfully in Hermione's, and any protest died before it got to his lips. He had always blamed himself for Harry's disappearance eleven years ago, and when he learned he'd lived in the dangers of the forest his whole life, he had blamed himself even further. Even though Harry had no recognition in his eyes when he looked up at him, Hagrid had such a soft spot for the boy that he would have defied or lied to Dumbledore for if it was Harry who requested it.** So it was really a no-brainer for him to allow a Sorted second year to accompany the scared little boy he held such fondness for across the lake.

"Of course, Hermione," he said happily, glad that both had found a friend in each other. Even he wasn't blind to the harassment the girl had gotten in the year, and to have Harry Potter by her side would certainly curb several of the others' bullying tendencies. "There's one in the back – little blond witch is sitting there alone. Why don't you two join her?"

Hermione led Harry over to the boat, and after getting in, Hagrid got into his own boat and called, "Everyone in? Right – forward!"

And with that, the boats began across the lake as though pulled by invisible strings. Hermione practically lost feeling in her fingers, Harry was holding on so hard.

"I quite understand your fright, Harry Potter," the little witch with dirty blond hair said airily. "Land snakes don't belong anywhere near the water."

The last sentence served to distract Harry momentarily from his fear of the lake – did this little witch he didn't even know the name of know his secret already? Even Sirius and Salim hadn't known for more than a month before finding out – and quite entirely by accident – so how could this first year know before he'd said a word to her?

Apparently unaware of his inner turmoil, the girl said, "I'm Luna Lovegood, and you're Hermione Granger and Harry Potter."

"Er – that's right," Hermione said, thrown by the younger girl. "How did you know that?"

Luna didn't answer her – it was as though she had said nothing as she focused her clear blue eyes on Harry. "There is nothing to fear in the lake – the Giant Squid is known for being friendly and helping anyone who falls in. Though I admit it would be rather startling to be saved by one of his tentacles – rather like a Glubbering Werven on a rainy day."

"Glubbering – what?" Hermione said in complete confusion. "What's that?"

"Oh, they're rather rare," Luna assured her. "Many people haven't even heard of them – they're going extinct. Daddy assures me he found one, though – he's going to try to take a picture next time, but as they have no color, that may be quite difficult."

"Has no – so it's white, then?" Hermione grasped for an explanation, noticing that the girl still hadn't actually _explained_ what a 'Glubbering Werven' was.

"Oh, of course not, silly!" the girl laughed in a way that reminded Hermione of a tiny bell. "White _is_ a color – it's _all_ the colors. Glubbering Wervens don't have _any_ colors, but they can adopt a color for a short time if they take a fancy to it."

Hermione still didn't know what she was talking about, but she could see that Harry was confused too, and the confusion was distracting him from his fear, so she kept the girl talking.

"That's fascinating," she lied. "Where do you find them?"

"Oh, anywhere, really – they like to hide in the snow best though, so perhaps we'll see one around Christmastime," Luna said mildly.

"Duck your heads!" Hagrid's voice suddenly called over the chattering of the children from all the boats, and they all immediately ducked their heads down to avoid crashing into the low-hanging rock, and when they rose again, the lit castle was in view.

When they finally got to land, Luna had successfully distracted Harry from most of his fear of the water, and as they all climbed out of the boats, Hermione was only glad that it hadn't been tortuous for the boy. He hadn't seemed awed by the sight of the castle, but she supposed that he must have seen it from the Forbidden Forest before – that, or he just didn't care about the beauty of a dwelling but rather its functionality.

Hagrid led the rest of the first years up to the door, pounding on it with a giant fist before Professor McGonagall answered with a more severe expression than she usually reserved for class. Hermione remembered wanting to impress the older witch just because of that first impression, and she supposed that had been the woman's point. There would be no shenanigans among the first years at the Sorting, thanks to the professor's first impression.

"I'll see you after the Sorting – and remember to go wherever the Hat wants you," Hermione whispered to Harry, and waited for his somewhat reluctant nod before making her way to the Great Hall. He had told her on the train of his intention to get Sorted into Gryffindor, regardless of what the Hat wanted, but she had insisted that while it would be great to be in the same House, she wasn't going to be his only friend at Hogwarts – and she shouldn't be. She didn't want Harry to miss the opportunity of going to a House specifically suited for his personality, regardless of the reason he agreed to come to Hogwarts. Only the assurance that they would still be friends and could regularly see each other in different Houses had him agreeing to her demands.

Honestly she could see him going to any of the four Houses. He had shown bravery in leaving his life as a snake, as well as courage in going to live with someone he thought was dangerous for the unforeseeable future. He had shown intelligence and a diligence to his learning when he learned to speak and read and write and live as a normal human – and in less than a year. He had shown incredible loyalty to Hermione through anything thrown his way, and both the qualities that qualified him for the other Houses showed that he wouldn't let something get in the way of his friendship and loyalty to her. His very thought process was cunning, and it was clear his ambition to live normally and productively was strong. And then there was the fact that Parselmouths usually went to Slytherin, and the symbol for the House was his literal other half. She could see him going anywhere.

Well, she mused, it only went to show that what the Hat had told her was true – everyone had a little bit of every House in them. Still, she wondered whether Harry would be joining her in Gryffindor or if they would be regular visitors between each others' common rooms. Only the Hat would know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Yes, I know most land snakes can swim at least enough to survive, but for the sake of the story I'm changing that and making it impossible. Hate me all you want for it, but I'll just ignore you. If it makes you feel better, just think of it how Harry would – maybe he doesn't know that some snakes can swim because there were never any lakes or puddles around. I don't know.  
> **I recognize this is a bit OOC for Hagrid, who holds Dumbledore on a pedestal in canon, but I think that knowing their actions when Harry was a baby had led to him disappearing for ten years would have slowly changed Hagrid's views on the matter. Not so much that he would attack Dumbledore or something, but definitely not the blind trust he held for Dumbledore in canon.  
> Sully – stain, tarnish  
> Xylon - forest  
> Also, another question!: Anyone have any name suggestions for Ron? I'm drawing a complete blank and I need it for the next chapter...o.o  
> Thanks for reading!


	18. Sorting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks everyone who reviewed and especially gave me ideas for Ron’s name! Jake Crepeau especially from the 'other site' – thank you, and I used yours. ;)

Harry was glad that Luna – Xanthia, he named her – had stuck by him even after Zuri had left. She was rather absentminded, but in a way that had her instantly endeared to him. Already he knew she was odd, but he didn’t mind. Among these people, he was rather the epitome of odd – and they kept stealing glances at him and Sadi when they thought he wouldn’t notice. He was beginning to grow rather uncomfortable with their stares – a snake prided itself on not being noticed by predators, but here he was being gawked at like he was a garish-colored parrot, or something of the like. One redheaded girl that reminded him of a bit of the boys who had first brought him to the castle kept blushing when he caught her staring, and she looked away quickly.

“Don’t worry about them, Harry – it’s just the Nargle infestation getting to them,” Luna said blandly next to him. Standing up, she was a full head shorter than him, amazing as Harry wasn’t the tallest of boys to begin with. “It’s quite common – amazingly, you are free of the infestation. Even Daddy has been known to allow a few in his head from time to time.”

Harry had nothing to say to that, as he had no idea what she was talking about, so he just nodded in acknowledgement to her words and remained silent.

One particular small boy with a mousey face and blond hair was staring at him the most, but at least these ones weren’t malicious like some of the others. As soon as the woman who introduced herself as Professor McGonagall but whom Harry privately called Shamora had left the Entrance Hall, the boy bounced up to him.

“Are you Harry Potter?” he said excitedly. Harry nodded wordlessly, and the boy only got more excited. “I knew it!” he exclaimed. “You have the scar and everything! I’m Colin Creevey! I’m a muggleborn, so I only heard about you a month ago, but I think it’s just so amazing that you defeated You-Know-Who like that – he sounds just as bad as Hitler! Then I saw you could talk to snakes in the _Daily Prophet_ – I ordered a subscription as soon as I could, of course – and I wish _I_ could, too!” He gasped excitedly when Sadi shifted under his collar and raised her head to view the excitable boy disturbing her rest. “Oh! Is that one yours? I didn’t know snakes were allowed as pets – it said on the letter that only owls, cats, and toads were allowed…”

“Sadi is not a _pet_ ,” Harry hissed the word in disgust, sure that many others would make the same mistake as well and wanting to make it clear from the get-go. “So obviously the rule does not apply. She’s my sister.”

This drew gasps from several other students, but Colin instantly understood. “Oh – that makes sense, since you lived in the forest your whole life! Is that why you can speak the snake language – because you lived with snakes?”

His guess was getting dangerously close to the truth, but Harry saw no way out of answering without being obvious he was evading the question, so he answered truthfully, “I don’t know. I was too young when I went to the forest to remember anything about it.”

“So has – Sadi was her name? – has Sadi been with you since then?” Colin asked him, gazing at the snake in question.

“No,” Harry said simply. “She was hatched almost six seasons ago.”

“Can I pet her?” Colin asked suddenly. “She won’t bite me or anything, will she? I heard how she bit another boy earlier on the train.”

“Yes, you may stroke her,” Harry said after Sadi gave permission. “She promises not to bite if she is not provoked.” Actually she hadn’t said the last part, but it would be a day or so before her venom sacs were replenished, and he didn’t want anyone thinking they could hurt her while she was at her weakest. A nice, subtle threat here and there would go a long way to making sure she stayed safe.

Colin delightedly stroked along her spine with surprisingly gentle fingers, and several of the other first years who had previously been wary of him were beginning to grow more comfortable when Shamora came back, directing them to follow her into the Great Hall.

Harry didn’t take in the Hall and the decorations or even the ghosts as they walked through the doors – his eyes immediately searched for Zuri. He spotted her sitting alone at one of the tables, but she didn’t appear troubled as she shot him a beaming, reassuring smile, causing him to instantly relax his tense posture. If she was smiling, nothing had happened since they’d separated.

After they got to the front of the Hall, the Hat sitting on the stool previously gone unnoticed began to sing its song. Harry paid no attention to the words – seeing no point in keeping it a secret from him, Sirius and Salim had told him of the Sorting process long ago, believing the tradition of keeping it a secret wouldn’t go over as well with him as it did with other first years. Normal first years would get terrified at the thought of wrestling a troll or the like to determine which House they went to – they reasoned that Harry was likely to either refuse to be Sorted, or do something extremely rash and foolhardy. Harry was disinclined to disagree with this assessment.

After the Hat was done singing, Shamora spoke to the quiet Great Hall.

“Due to extenuating circumstances, Harry Potter has been homeschooled for the past year,” she informed everyone. “He has completed his first year of magical studies, and will be joining the second year curriculum with the rest of his age group. As he is a year above the other students to be Sorted, he will be Sorted first.” She looked at Harry, easily blending in with the rest of the crowd if not for the snake prominently around his neck like a scarf – or a banner. “Harry Potter.”

Harry walked forward on sure legs, a far cry from the rest of the nervous first years, and mused that Shamora was rather good at explaining without revealing anything. Still, her explanation didn’t stop the whispers from the students as they discussed those ‘extenuating circumstances’ with their neighbor. You had to be either a new muggleborn without a subscription to the _Daily Prophet_ or living under a rock to be unaware that Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived, had lived in a forest for ten years after the defeat (read: disappearance) of You-Know-Who.

Harry ignored their whispers now though, sitting on the designated stool while Shamora dropped the Hat on his head. The brim fell to his eyebrows, so that Harry could still see the students craning in their seats to get a look at him.

_:Well, this is interesting. I’ve never met anyone quite like you before.:_

Harry jumped at the voice that spoke directly inside his head, but even more startling, it was in Parseltongue.

 _:You can speak Parseltongue?:_ The hissed words slipped past his lips before he could even think to pull them back, and he distantly noted that several students had yelped or fallen from their seats at the sound of Parseltongue in the otherwise silent Great Hall.

 _:Dear boy, Salazar Slytherin helped to create me. Do you really think I wouldn’t have picked up some Parseltongue from his essence?:_ The Hat had a fair point. _:Besides that, Salazar thought it would be a good idea to make me able to speak any language, as at the time of Hogwarts’ founding, children were coming from all over the continent, speaking different languages and dialects. Having someone who can understand everyone puts those children at ease. I haven’t had to do so as much in recent centuries, but just last year I was communicating in Tamil with a couple of twins.:_

 _That does make sense,_ Harry thought to the Hat.

_:Of course it does. Now let me figure out where to Sort you.:_

_Do I need to do anything for this to make it easier?_

_:As a matter of fact, if you could lower your Occlumency shields just slightly…ah, there we are. You have stronger shields than any child I’ve Sorted who hasn’t been abused regularly – you should be proud. Of course, your serpent abilities likely have a large role in that…:_

**_Don’t tell anyone!_** Harry thought sharply, unconsciously snapping his shields up again.

 _:Who would I tell?:_ the Hat sounded slightly irritated. _:I’m bound to keep the secrets of the children I Sort – only fair after rifling through their thoughts and memories and deepest desires. Which, I have to say would be a lot easier if you would stop sending me to your mental hurricane to get me out.:_

 _Sorry,_ Harry apologized, and tried consciously lowering his shields.

 _:Much better – thank you,:_ the Hat said. _:Now, although you are a snake, I don’t think Slytherin is the choice for you. And in the current political climate…hm…_

_:No, not Ravenclaw, either, though congratulations on your progress on everything thus far. But even the very intelligent don’t always go to Rowena’s house – just look at your friend you call ‘Zuri’. Hm…that leaves Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. You would do well in either one, you know. You were very brave for leaving the forest and coming to the human world, no doubt about that. In Gryffindor you could have many allies in the coming war.:_

_So you choose Gryffindor, then?_ Harry thought hopefully. He might be in the same House as Zuri after all, and without any begging.

_:I didn’t say that. I say you will have many allies in Gryffindor – but in Hufflepuff you would have many friends – friends who would stay with you even after Voldemort is over.:_

_So I wouldn’t have friends in Gryffindor?_

_:Fairweather friends, situational friends – if you’re alright with that, then that’s fine. But Hufflepuff is known for hard workers **and** loyalty. Their loyalty will see you through many difficult times ahead.:_

_But what about Zuri and Xylon? They’re in Gryffindor._

_:They’re also in Hogwarts. There is no reason for you to cease friendship with them because they’re in a different House.:_

_That’s not what I meant…_

_:I know what you meant, but your worries are unfounded. Just the knowledge that you are their friend will cause other students to pause before trying anything you worry for. And I am quite positive that Hufflepuff will provide you with good friendships outside of even your comfort zone. Therefore it is with my pleasure that I must place you in – :_ “HUFFLEPUFF!”

He shouted the last part to the rest of the Hall, and there was a beat of stunned silence before the students exploded.

Harry rose from the seat amidst the cheering and hollering, the loudest table being Hufflepuff. He realized that he was still unsure what the animal of the House was, but now wasn’t the time to stop and ask. At least it wasn’t the nasty House with Sully and other bullies in it. He noticed that quite a few of them had already stopped clapping and were now sneering at him, and even some people in the other Houses glared. He looked over at Zuri as he made his way to the table with the yellow banner, and she shot him a big smile and a thumbs up. Glad that she wasn’t upset at his placement, he sat down next to a boy with dark hair.

“Nice to meet you, mate!” the boy said, grabbing his hand and pumping it up and down. It took a moment for Harry to remember not to attack him in defense – that this was how a lot of humans greeted and introduced each other. The boy went on, “My name’s Justin! You’ll be in the Second Years’ dorm with me!”

There was no time for either of them to say any more, because the applause (and angry mutters) had died down, and the First Years were now starting their Sorting.

Harry watched a few of them – a boy named Arthur was the first to join Hufflepuff, and Colin Creevey – or Sparkie, as Harry thought of him – went to Gryffindor. Xanthia went to Ravenclaw, and practically skipped her way down to the table. Harry wondered – if he tried, would he be able to skip? It looked very odd, and there didn’t seem to be a true benefit of skipping rather than regular walking. This would bear thought – and some experimentation.

After the First Years had been Sorted, Cilla gave a few words and announcements for the upcoming year, and then food suddenly appeared on the plates in front of them.

Harry’s nose immediately caught a whiff of meat – and a lot of it. He gazed down the length of the table and saw easily every type of food he could think of, but the things that caught his eye were the enormous amounts and types of meat. There were steaks, bacon rashers, sausages, roast beef, pork chops, roast chicken, fried chicken, lamb chops, ham slices, stuffed pheasant, and even a plate just for pepperoni. And still there were many other meats that he didn’t even recognize but smelled delicious. He couldn’t decide which one to take, so he grabbed a little of everything and piled it on his plate.

 _:Ooh, that smells good!:_ Sadi hissed, moving out from his collar and flicking her tongue a couple of times to smell what he did. _:Give me some!:_

 _:Well, since you asked so nicely, what do you want?:_ Harry said a bit sarcastically, uncaring for the sharp or uneasy looks coming from his new housemates at the sound of him speaking Parseltongue as he moved his arm so that Sadi could slither down to the table.

 _:Hm…that one looks good,:_ Sadi decided on the pork chops. _:But that will need to be quartered – it’s much too big right now.:_

“So what made Dumbledore decide to allow you to bring the snake with you?” the boy across from him asked curiously, eating a bite of his mashed potatoes.

“I don’t know,” Harry said indifferently as he tried using his fork and knife to cut the pork chop for Sadi. “I didn’t even know that it wasn’t allowed.” His fork slipped and he moved just in time to prevent stabbing his hand with it.

“She’s not his pet, that’s why!” a first year a couple of seats down from him piped up, the speared carrot on her fork practically forgotten as she got her chance to speak. “She’s his sister, so it’s different from the rules!”

“Sister?” Justin questioned, looking down at Sadi where she eagerly awaited Harry’s completion of his task so she could eat. “How’s she your sister?”

“Her mother was like mine – she raised me,” Harry answered distractedly, trying to get his knife to stop slipping on the top of the pork chop.

“A _snake_ raised you?!” a new boy chimed in with a shocked voice. “ _How_?!”

Harry grunted. “Same way I’d expect your own mother raised _you_ ,” he grumbled, disgruntled that he was making no progress on the pork chop. He stopped trying and looked at Sadi. _:Are you sure you **must** have the pork chops?: _he said aggrievedly. _:I still can’t figure out how to cut my food, and this is bloody difficult!:_

Before Sadi could answer, a girl across the table leaned over to ask sympathetically, “Potter, do you need help cutting that?” She’d apparently noticed his struggles with it.

Harry looked up at the red-haired girl who appeared to be about his age, and he smiled at her gratefully while handing his plate and the knife and fork over to her.

“Thank you,” he said sincerely. “It doesn’t need to be too small – it’s for Sadi.”

The girl nodded in acknowledgement of his thanks and said, “Sadi – is that the snake’s name?”

Harry nodded, and she opened her mouth to say something else, but the boy across from him beat her to it.

“You’re twelve years old – how do you _not_ know how to cut your own food?” he said incredulously.

The blond girl next to the redhead reached over and smacked him in the head. “Seriously, Macmillan, you’re a pureblood – I’d expect you to read the _Prophet_ now and then.” She chided derisively. “Everyone knows Harry Potter grew up in the forest; not much time for learning to use silverware, is there?”

“Alright, alright,” the boy muttered, rubbing his head. “I forgot – it’s not a big deal!”

The girl rolled her eyes and took the plate the redhead handed her, passing it down to reach Harry. “My name’s Susan,” she introduced herself. “She”—she jerked her thumb at the redhead next to her—“is Hannah. That”—she pointed to the boy she’d smacked—“is Ernie Macmillan. He’s kind of an idiot.” Ignoring his protest, she pointed to the rest of the people in their immediate area, whom Harry found out were those to be his year mates. He ate his food while she talked, and Sadi ate hers. He tried to ignore the piggish eating of those around him – some of them ate even worse than Sirius did in his dog form.

The meal would have been perfect, if it wasn’t for the fact that when Harry looked over several times to the Gryffindor table, Zuri was eating alone, the people around her turned away in their own conversations. She didn’t appear too upset, but he knew she must be feeling lonely with him at a different table.

“Justin,” he said to the boy next to him currently gulping an entire goblet of pumpkin juice at once, “Does everyone always sit at their House tables?”

The dark-haired boy looked at him curiously. “I suppose,” he said, wiping his lip with the back of his hand. “It’s sort of tradition. Most people’s friends are in their House anyway, so there’s not much point in going to another table.”

“Is there a rule that you _have_ to sit at a particular table?” Harry asked him.

Justin gazed at him as though he was especially odd. “I don’t think so,” he answered confusedly.

That was all Harry needed. He scooped Sadi up from the table and rose to his feet, ignoring the curious and questioning looks from the Hufflepuffs around him.

 _:Where are we going now?:_ Sadi said. _:The feast isn’t over.:_

Harry walked toward the doors, but only so that he could go around the end of the Gryffindor table to get to the other side.

 _:We’re going to sit with Zuri,:_ he told her simply. Several nearby students flinched at the sound of Parseltongue so close, and he drew several looks as he was the only student on his feet – and going toward a particular girl whom several viewed as an insufferable know-it-all.

 _:Ooh, good,:_ Sadi said happily. _:I like her.:_

There was enough space between Zuri and her curly-haired companion (who had scooted as far from her as possible in the limited space) that Harry had no problem seating himself between them.

“Harry!” Zuri was surprised by his appearance and even more as he reached for a slice of roast beef as though it was perfectly normal to ditch one’s House on the first day and seat themselves at another’s table like they belonged there. “What are you doing here?”

“Hello, Zuri,” Harry said happily, putting the roast beef on the plate that had appeared in front of him when he sat down. “I wanted to sit by you!”

“Why would you want to be next to _Granger_?” a redheaded boy down the table a few sneered at the girl.

Harry tensed – he knew that this was another bully, and he didn’t appreciate the boy being rude when he was _right there_. Added to that was how alike in appearance he was to the twins who’d taken him, and he disliked the boy immediately.

“She is my friend,” he said with steel in his voice, a warning to back off.

The boy completely missed the warning, scoffing at his words. “Yeah, _right_ ,” he said derisively. “You can have better friends than _that_ know-it-all.” Then he committed the ultimate mistake and turned his attention to Zuri, who was staring down at the table. “What’d you do, Granger? See the Boy-Who-Lived and offer to carry his books and do his homework for the entire year if he sat next to you at the Feast? Only way I can imagine anyone putting up with you.”

Harry had been prepared to deal with this calmly, though still threatening, but the moment he caught sight of Zuri’s eyes brimming with unshed tears, his control snapped.

“Listen here, Boipelo,” he hissed, Parseltongue accent thick as he resisted changing into snake form to bite the awful boy. He hardly noticed how the Gryffindors around them quieted their conversations and stilled to watch the confrontation. Several could have sworn that his eyes darkened to a poisonous green and his teeth seemed much more pronounced.

Harry went on harshly, “Hermione Granger is my best friend, and I won’t allow anyone to bully her – it ends _now_. If you can’t understand that, you may wake up some night to find a pair fangs in your neck. We’ll see if you can get to the nurse in time before passing out.”

“You – you’d be expelled,” Ron managed to recover, though his face was white.

“Let’s hope you don’t ever have to worry about that,” Harry said unwaveringly, staring him down. “Everyone here knows I’ve lived in the forest most of my life – what most seem to forget is that the rules there are _very_ different than you are used to. I may live in the human world now, but the forest world is what I know. And when a female is threatened by another, we _get rid_ of that threat.” He looked around at the rest of the Gryffindors, who were gazing back at him with wide, shocked eyes. “That goes for all of you. The bullying stops _now_ – and not just on Hermione; on _everyone_.”

Up at the staff table, McGonagall was watching as Harry Potter seemed to verbally flay everyone in the immediate vicinity, but his ire seemed to be focused on Ronald Weasley, a boy rather known for his brash – and a bit bullying – ways. She sighed.

“What _is_ that boy doing?” she said aloud.

Dumbledore knew exactly who she was talking about, and gazed with twinkling eyes at the Gryffindor table. “Ah,” he said. “I believe he is warning them.”

His Deputy turned her eyes to him. “Warning them – of what?”

“Of hurting Miss Granger, I believe,” he said serenely, spooning some fruit gelatin onto his plate. “He has taken a rather strong liking to her – it was her circumstances of unfriendliness from the rest of the students in her year that convinced him to stay with us, I believe. Now that he is here, he wishes to ensure that she is happy.”

“So, correct me if I’m wrong, but Harry Potter would have gone back to the forest if it wasn’t for Miss Granger needing his help?” McGonagall said incredulously.

“Mm,” Dumbledore agreed with a nod, taking a bite of his gelatin. “I believe so. These are just my suspicions, but I must say it has been a while since I have been wrong. I would be surprised if this is what broke that record.”

McGonagall looked back down at the Gryffindor table, where the students around Harry Potter had rather uneasily turned back to their foods, and Harry was perfectly content, talking with Hermione Granger while she spoke with him familiarly, comfortably. With this explanation, Harry Potter’s Sorting suddenly made a lot more sense.

Feeling the need to share this feeling, she turned to the Herbology professor seated next to her. “Pomona,” she said, drawing the smiling woman’s attention, “I believe that you have just gained the most loyal, hardworking, protective, loving boy Hufflepuff has seen in decades.”

…

After the feast, Harry had to part from Zuri, as they had to go to separate Houses. She assured him that she would see him at breakfast though, so he followed the rest of the Hufflepuffs down the corridor and to their Common Room. The students began sitting around the room with the low ceiling and welcoming air, the older students going to the back and a couple of them with badges directing the new first years to sit on the floor in the front.

“Harry,” someone said when he walked in, and he turned to see a plump woman with curly brown hair and a friendly smile. She smelled of soil and flowers, which made him instantly like her.

She went on, “It’s a pleasure to have you in Hufflepuff – if you could sit with the first years, as you’re new, we can get started.”

Nodding his acquiescence, he went and sat down next to a boy he remembered was named Craig. The boy smiled genuinely at him, but said nothing as Professor Sprout moved to stand in front of the assembled group.

“Hello, and welcome to Hogwarts, first years; welcome back, older years!” she said cheerfully. “My name is Professor Sprout; I teach the Herbology course. I know the other Houses don’t have this sort of welcome the first night, but I think it makes everyone more comfortable to know everything they need to before getting into the hustle and bustle of school.

“Now, the older years can confirm to you that this is the most welcoming House, the ones whose members are first to come to your aid. We value hard work as well as loyalty; loyalty that stretches even beyond your years at Hogwarts. If you go anywhere in the Wizarding World, even you first years will find that a fellow Hufflepuff even fifty years older than you will be the first to come to your aid. No matter the years spanning between you, we are one House, and we take that _very_ seriously.

“However, I must say that, as much as we wish otherwise, Hufflepuff is frequently viewed by the other Houses as the leftovers, the idiots, and the unwanted.” Her voice had gone slightly cold with this last pronouncement, and it only hardened further as she continued, “This leaves others thinking that we are easy prey; that we don’t matter enough for others to come to our aid. Hufflepuffs are the students most bullied by the other Houses – be it verbally, or physically. It is for that reason that we must all stick together. If anyone knows of any circumstances of bullying going on, notify me immediately and I promise you that I will defend the bullied with all the fierceness badgers are known for. Merlin help you if one of _you_ bullies a Housemate.” After that threat, she paused a moment to let the gravity of her words resonate with them, and then she was cheerful again.

“Our prefects this year are Gabriel Truman and Alexandra Sykes*,” she said, and motioned to the boy and girl who stepped forward when their names were called. “They will help students in any year, so if you need some help, find one of them. If it is more serious help that you require, my office is always open to you – although if you can’t find me, I will most likely be in the greenhouses. I do tend to lose track of time out there.” She smiled as several students chuckled in agreement.

“Aside from all of that, I can tell you in my admittedly biased opinion that Hufflepuff is the best House at Hogwarts.” She told them with a smile. “I know that you will all make friendships that will last decades, and you will enjoy your time at Hogwarts as much as I _still_ do.” She looked at them all. “Does anyone have any questions?” No one took her up on this, so with a single clap, she said, “Alright, then! I know many of you have stuffed yourselves and are ready to sleep off those food comas, so off with you! Breakfast starts at seven tomorrow, and classes straight after! Prefects will show first years where their dormitories are – and good luck on everyone’s first day!” The entire House rose and began milling about, going to the dormitories positioned around them in the circular room. The prefects gathered all the first years, while Harry walked up to Professor Sprout with a question on his mind.

“Sadik,” he addressed her, and she turned to him with a smile, not having made the connection of her assigned name but having seen him approach.

“Yes, Harry – what can I help you with?” she said pleasantly, McGonagall’s words of praise and her explanation for them ringing through her mind.

“You said that you don’t approve of bullying in the House,” he started. “But what about in other Houses? Will you defend them ‘with the fierceness of a badger’ even if they’re in another House?”

“Of course I will,” she assured him, knowing he was thinking about Hermione Granger. “It’s not just Hufflepuff who deserves our loyalty – that is simply our focus. Houses stick by their own, but if a Gryffindor is being bullied as well, there is no reason for us Hufflepuffs to hold back in their defense.”

Harry nodded, but he had another concern. “What if a Hufflepuff bullies someone in another House?” he asked her. “Will you go against the Hufflepuff to defend the other?”

She had to stop and think about that for a moment, before she answered slowly, “Yes, I _personally_ will. I don’t believe my Hufflepuffs are prone to bullying, so such a case would be rare, but I am a Hogwarts professor, and my loyalty is to the happiness of _all_ students. I can’t say it would be the same reaction for the other Hufflepuffs, though.”

While not wholly satisfied with her answer, he nodded his thanks to her and then joined Justin and Ernie, who had been patiently waiting for him to show him the dorm they would sleep in.

He got ready for bed, putting the rock Zuri had given him underneath the bed frame to avoid the risk of something dropping on it, and bid Sadi goodnight as she sleepily laid herself on top of it. He wished he could transform into snake form and sleep next to her, but with the other boys there that was impossible. Sighing, he went to brush his teeth, knowing that Sirius and Salim would know if he didn’t. Not that they were psychic – but he was planning to call them after getting in bed.

He bid goodnight to the other five boys in the dorm, and closed the curtains for some privacy. He pulled off all of his clothes, and then burrowed underneath his blankets before grabbing his mirror from where he’d shoved it under his pillow.

“Sirius!” he called softly, not wanting to disturb the other boys.

Sirius’ face instantly came into view, Salim next to him. “Hey, pup!” he said cheerfully, the sentiment echoed by Salim. “I thought you’d be calling soon. You having fun there?”

“I suppose,” Harry allowed. “I’ve already met a couple of horrid boys who were picking on Zuri. Sadi bit a boy named Draco Malfoy.”

“Harry,” Salim chided, but his attempt to hide a grin belied his disapproving tone.

Sirius had no such compunctions. “Way to go, Sadi!” he cheered. “If Malfoy Junior is anything like his father, the git likely deserved _more_ than whatever he got from her.”

“Sirius!” Now Salim was exasperated with the man next to him.

Sirius blithely ignored him and appeared to be attempting to see behind Harry. It was too dark to make out the colors of the bed hangings. “So, where’d you get Sorted? Should we be repainting your room green and silver, little snake?”

“No,” Harry said simply. “I’m in Hufflepuff – their colors are yellow and black.”

“Hufflepuff!” Sirius cheered. “Can’t say I’m displeased with that choice – much better than the trauma I was prepared for should you go to Slytherin.”

“Congratulations, Harry,” Salim interrupted, leaning over Sirius’ shoulder to see Harry better.

“Yeah – good job, pup. Now, do you want black with yellow accents, or yellow with black accents in your room?” Sirius questioned.

“You pick,” Harry suggested, eyes becoming droopy with fatigue. “You did fine with the Gryffindor colors – I’m sure the new room will be tasteful, too. Just don’t choose a shade of yellow that’s an eyesore.”

“Aww,” Sirius’ grin belied his whine of complaint at Harry’s restrictions.

“I think we should be letting you get to sleep now,” Salim observed.

“No, it’s okay,” Harry protested around a yawn. “I miss you two – I can stay up a bit longer.”

“We miss you too, puppy,” Sirius told him with a little smile. “But you can always call tomorrow – you’ve got another big day to be prepared for.”

“Sirius Black, are you being _responsible_?” Salim said in mock shock, holding a hand to his chest as he looked at Sirius.

Sirius sniffed and turned his nose away from him. “I can be when I want to be,” he said in play offense. “I may need therapy for the trauma, but I can manage.” Harry snorted, even though he didn’t know what ‘therapy’ was. He let out another yawn.

“We should really let you get to sleep, Harry,” Salim told him with a gentle smile. “You look ready to drop. We’ll talk with you tomorrow, alright?”

“Alright,” Harry said, blinking sleepily at his slightly fuzzy face. “Good night. I love you.”

“I love you too, Harry.”

“Love you, pup – see you tomorrow!”

With Sirius’ cheerful farewell, the mirror went blank, and Harry had just enough time to shove it under his pillow before finally dropping off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *HP Wiki says Alex Sykes was a wizard of unknown House affiliation, but all the other names for the unknowns that even might be possible for the time were guys! So this was the closest and I tweaked the name a bit. I’m just not a big fan of OC’s, so I try and at least use an unknown for my characters (besides the obvious, like all the snakes).  
> Also, I truly do like Ron and it’s honestly hard for me to make him an enemy in here. But, I think that without Harry in his first year to influence him, he would have turned out more bullying, especially in regards to Hermione. In canon I think Ron was more concerned with being a friend to the Boy-Who-Lived in the first couple of months, and it was only after the troll incident that he truly realized what effect his bullying ways had, and became a true friend to the both of them. And of course after he made nice with Hermione in canon, I think she would’ve kept him in line as far as bullying went if he ever even thought about it, and after puberty he just grew out of it. But, maybe that’s just me.  
> Hope you liked his Sorting! I saw him from the beginning going into Hufflepuff…you’ll understand more of the details on why in later chapters. ;)  
> Xanthia – yellow, blond  
> Sadik – faithful   
> Sparkie – happy  
> Shamora – ready for battle  
> Boipelo – self-glorifying


	19. Twins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here comes the much-anticipated scene with the Weasley twins! Hope none of you are too upset…

Harry had been waiting at the base of the stairs for perhaps a half hour for Zuri to come down. He knew that Gryffindor Tower was up there somewhere, a notion confirmed by several students in red-trimmed robes coming down, but he couldn't tell exactly where. He knew that the locations of the House entrances were supposed to be kept secret, but no one really followed that rule. It was just that Harry didn't know where it was just yet, having never been up those stairs himself. He didn't want to go up those stairs to find her either, especially when he looked up and saw several staircases moving on their own. He was certain that he would get lost, and maybe then Zuri would suppose he _hadn't_ been waiting for her, as he'd told her he would.

He finally sat down at the base of the stairs to wait, and looked down at his bare toes. Sirius and Salim weren't there to make sure he wore all of the supposedly necessary clothing, so he had foregone the awful shoes today and was traipsing about barefoot. The stone floors were cold, but he didn't mind so much. After all, he had learned to walk in the forest when it was cold. His feet had grown rather calloused, so stepping on something and hurting his feet wasn't as big of a risk as Salim seemed to think it was. He was sure that his guardians were just being overprotective.

Underneath his school robes, he wore nothing, either. He didn't see the point in wearing so many layers of clothing that no one could even see, so it had been an easy decision to just pull on the rather lightweight black robes now trimmed in yellow. He was sure no one would even notice, so Sirius and Salim didn't even have to be worrying about his being "publicly indecent", whatever that meant. They'd explained it to him several times, but he just didn't understand what humans were so desperate to hide. He wasn't embarrassed to be naked in front of people, but Sirius and Salim seemed to think he should be. By now he'd just accepted it as a human idiosyncrasy, though it still baffled him.

He wondered what there would be for breakfast. That was another funny thing about humans – breakfast, lunch, and dinner all required different types of food. While for breakfast scrambled eggs and toast was a norm, if one had the same thing for dinner it was called "breakfast for dinner" – as though it was against some sort of rules to have eggs and toast for dinner and had to be clarified like that. On the same vein, lunch was usually lighter food, perhaps a sandwich or a salad, and dinner was heavier and usually more flavorful. One would never have lasagna for breakfast, apparently. Sirius said it was too heavy for someone having just woken up.

So, there was a high chance that at breakfast there would not be any pork chops like he'd had at dinner last night. All because of a stupid human rule.

Harry didn't particularly enjoy breakfast foods. They were usually sweet, like pastries and muffins, or boring, like eggs and toast. Lunch and dinner had a higher likelihood of having meat, and those were the foods that he liked most. But perhaps there would be sausage – he remembered one breakfast that he'd thought tolerable, was biscuits and gravy. It had had the bread he didn't enjoy much, but the gravy with bits and chunks of sausage in it had been poured over it and made it a filling breakfast that didn't make him want to throw up. He hoped Hogwarts had some of that.

His stomach rumbled, and he pressed a hand to it with a frown. For perhaps the thousandth time, he wished he didn't get hungry so quickly in human form. He had eaten a lot last night, after all. He looked down at Sadi, who was still pleasantly full from the night before. He could still see the bulge in her middle that showed the pork chop was still digesting inside her, and longingly wished he felt the same satisfying warmth that came with a full stomach. He wondered what was taking Zuri so long, though to be fair they hadn't decided on an exact time and he'd gotten up at the crack of dawn. He'd learned that most humans got up well after the sun rose – a notion that still didn't make sense to him. Although, as Sirius and Salim had pointed out, most humans also went to bed _several_ hours after the sun set, and Harry was in bed only a couple of hours after dark, if that. It was simply instinct – awake when the sun is up, and asleep when the sun is gone.

 _:Harry,:_ Sadi's sudden hiss made him tense at the tone in her voice. _:They are coming.:_

 _:Who?:_ Harry demanded, instantly anxious.

He tensed further at her reply, and whirled around to look up the stairs, just in time to see the twins with red hair coming down, dressed in Gryffindor robes. He would've tried to hide, but there were two problems with that. Firstly, the hall was rather spacious, with no quick and easy spots for hiding; and secondly, they had already spotted him by the time he saw them. He stiffened and went into a defensive posture as they approached.

"Hey, I know you!" one of them said in what almost sounded like amusement and joking.

"Haven't you been in the paper recently?" the other said as they kept walking toward him. They were just a single flight of stairs above him now.

"Something about snakes…" the first one said thoughtfully.

"…and Parseltongue…"

"…and mass chaos…"

"…Causing general mischief and mayhem – "

" – every time you go out, apparently..."

"And, when I first saw the articles, do you know what I said?"

"What did you say, Forge?"

"I said 'this lad's got a bit of a pranking spirit in him!'"

"Of course after my agreement – "

"We decided that we should introduce ourselves properly!"

"I'm Gred…"

"…and I'm Forge!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you!"

They chorused the last part, sporting large grins and reaching out to shake Harry's hand hanging at his side.

But Harry, seeing the movement of reaching toward him, felt immediately threatened and yanked his hand away, taking several steps back while Sadi instinctively hissed threateningly at the two from her usual spot around his neck.

"Stay away from me!" Harry hissed, Parseltongue accent much stronger than usual as he had to remind himself to keep talking in English. Their smiles faded into confusion while they stared at him.

"What's wrong?" 'Gred' asked him.

"Yeah, what'd we do?" 'Forge' was equally confused and stunned at this turn of events.

Harry's jaw clenched at their words as he struggled to rein in his temper. They really had no idea – _no_ _idea_ how much trouble they'd caused that night almost a year ago. Yes, some good had come of it, like becoming close with Sirius and Salim and being able to help Zuri and now Xylon, but he blamed these two for all of his stress and troubles and fear he'd gone through over the past several months.

Finally working his jaw loose enough to speak, he ground out, "What did you _do_? You took me from my _home_!" As soon as he started he couldn't stop, the words spilling past his lips as he finally let loose on all of the anger and hate he'd felt toward these two for so long now.

"I didn't even _know_ you two!" he spat. "I think it was _fairly_ obvious I'd never grown up with other humans – my _home_ was the _forest_! That was all I _knew_! And then _you_ decided to come out, and first threaten my _sister_ , and then take me from the _only_ thing I was familiar with! I didn't _want_ to follow you back to the castle! I didn't _want_ to live with humans and learn their ways! I wanted to _stay home_! But you didn't take _any_ of that into consideration – you didn't even _ask_ me anything! – you just forced me to sleep with your wands and took me to an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people and smells, where I couldn't even communicate what I wanted, because in case you hadn't noticed, _I didn't speak English_! I was then forcibly made to drink potions – things I didn't even know what were _for_ at the time – and time and again put forcibly back to sleep so that I couldn't fight to get back out! I was hardly short of a _prisoner_ after getting here, and then I come to find out that it's not just _me_ that felt discomfort at the hands of humans, but the most beautiful girl I've ever seen has been bullied for no reason at all! As if _that_ wasn't enough to get me to doubt any sort of faith I had in humans, I _then_ learn that humans keep serpents as _pets_! – As though snakes are a lower caste than humans; as though snakes aren't ten times smarter than most humans; as though snakes are a _thing_ – a _commodity_ …as though snakes haven't been more of a family to me than humans _ever_ were. Why would I then want to stay among humans, when they have so little to offer? Snakes may not be ones to usually care for their young, but we would sure as hell _never_ discriminate or degrade another of our kind, let alone force another species into the indignity and humiliation into being kept as our _pet_!

"So, you ask what you've done to me? In forcing me out of the comforts of my home, you've done _everything_ to me! I blame _you two_ for every single moment of uncertainty, fear, frustration, and discomfort I and Sadi have had since being among humans! So if you value your general wellbeing, you will stay the _hell_ away from me and mine!"

As the red haze of fury shrouding Harry's vision began to fade, he noticed that his rant had gathered quite the crowd. There were Houses from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw alike, having come down the stairs for breakfast and quite obviously stopped to see the spectacle. While Harry's rant had lasted perhaps three minutes at the most, it had been at such a time that many were already coming down for breakfast when it began. It was silent in the hallway, despite the upwards of thirty people gathered there, as they all stared at him with widened eyes. The twins' faces were no longer jolly in any way – in fact, they looked rather pale, freckles standing out starkly against their skin.

Then someone pushed through the crowd toward him, and Harry was instantly relieved that Zuri was finally there. She looked at him with concerned brown eyes and walked up to him, clasping his hand in hers in a clear show of support.

"Come on, Harry," she said quietly. "I'm sure you're hungry. Let's go get some breakfast, yeah?"

Harry nodded tightly, and allowed himself to be led off by his friend. After they'd gotten some distance away, he heard the students behind him burst out in whispers. He ducked his head slightly, uncomfortable with the attention to himself where it was so unwanted.

 _:Will you be okay, Harry?:_ Sadi hissed from his sleeve, poking her head out.

 _:Yes, Sadi, I'll be fine,:_ Harry answered wearily. Zuri glanced at him when he started speaking Parseltongue but said nothing as he continued his conversation with Sadi. _:I know I should've expected it, but I hadn't really realized that they would be here – or that they wouldn't know enough to stay away from me.:_

Sadi was quiet for several moments before she said, _:What did they really do that was so wrong?:_

 _:What?:_ Harry was shocked and hurt that she didn't understand. _:They took me from the forest! You heard everything I said back there – I didn't want to be here!:_

 _:Hm,:_ Sadi hummed in agreement, _:But now you're glad to be here, aren't you? With Sirius and Salim and Zuri…:_

 _:That's not the point!:_ Harry cut her off agitatedly.

_:Then what is? Look at it from their perspective. They thought you were confused and needed help. You wouldn't come willingly, so they put you to sleep so they could give you to the health female. Yes, they went about it the wrong way, but they thought they were helping. And they didn't bombard and harass you at all when we were with Sirius and Salim – they gave you your space to learn and get used to this.:_

_:They should_ _ **never**_ _have tried to take me away!:_ Harry said, breath hitching, unwilling to forgive them and unwilling to consider that his sister might be right.

 _:I'm not going to argue with you, Harry,:_ Sadi told him, the beginnings of irritation creeping into her voice at his obstinacy. _:But if you insist on living by a snake's rules, you really need to start thinking like the adult you would be as a snake, and not the child you actually are. Grow up and stop holding it against people when they make the smallest mistake.:_

Stung by her words, he dropped his arm to his side so he was no longer looking at her, and said nothing else, scowling ahead of him as they approached the large doors they'd gone through the night before.

"Are you and Sadi alright, Harry?" Zuri said cautiously as they walked.

"We're spectacular," he grouched, and immediately regretted it at the hurt look that crossed the girl's face. "I'm sorry," he told her more calmly. He sighed, "Just a bit of a disagreement – we'll be fine."

Zuri nodded her forgiveness and then said, "I thought I should let you know that we're not going to be able to sit together at every meal. At breakfast it's usually pretty relaxed because the students are never all there at the same time, but today we'll have to separate to our own Houses so our Heads of House can pass out our schedules. Lunch is pretty much the same way, but everyone gathers around the same time for dinner, so it's sort of expected to sit with one's House."

"But I want to sit with you," Harry said confusedly. "And it was allowed at the Feast last night."

"Well…" Zuri seemed to struggle for words before giving up. "Harry, I'm going to be blunt. I know that you're protective of me and everything, and I'm flattered really, but you can't be with me _all the time_. You won't even be in all of my classes. And especially in the first few days, you don't want to alienate your entire House because you're leaving them all the time. I won't be your only friend here – you need to be friends with people in your own House too. Life will be awful otherwise." The look on her face showed that she knew the feeling very well, and clearly didn't want Harry to go through the same.

"How about you sit with me, then?" he suggested, trying not to show the hurt he was feeling. "Then we would both be happy."

Zuri brightened, even though she hesitated for a brief moment before nodding. "Alright, then," she said as they walked through the doorway to the Great Hall. "I'm sure Professor McGonagall won't mind…"

As soon as they entered the Great Hall, stares were directed to Harry Potter from the students who were there. Whispers started, and Hermione couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for Harry because of all of the attention – she knew he hated it. But she had to be proud that he didn't let it cow him. He took the stares in stride, heading over to the Hufflepuff table while repeatedly checking to make sure she was still with him. Her heart fluttered happily that he was so focused on her, and couldn't help the smile that crept onto her face as she sat down beside him at the breakfast table. She scooped up a spoonful of eggs and dumped them on her plate before taking a piece of toast from the rack, seeing that Harry had gone straight for the sausage links and floppy bacon.

"So…" she said, wondering how to broach the topic on her mind as they began eating. "Is there a particular reason you're only wearing your robe? And no shoes – again?"

"Hm," Harry nodded and swallowed before speaking. "It's a bit cool, but there's no point in wearing the trousers and shirt underneath because no one _sees_ it, and the robe is part of the…" He paused, trying to remember the word for it.

"Uniform?" Hermione suggested.

He beamed at her and nodded. "The robe is part of the uniform anyway, and Salim said I'm supposed to wear my uniform at Hogwarts, so this just made it easy. And there's _never_ a point to wearing shoes, so I had away with those, too."

"Harry," Hermione said, voice wavering slightly as she struggled to constrain her laughter. "The _whole outfit_ is part of the uniform – including the shirt and tie and trousers. _And shoes_. You're going to catch a cold with how little you're wearing – the castle is drafty all year long."

Harry didn't know what "catch a'cold" meant, but he could see that Zuri was worried about him being only in the robe. "I'll be okay, Zuri," he told her, and took a bite of his bacon. "I once went out in the snow in socks and a long shirt, and I was fine."

"You went…" she shook her head disbelievingly. "What did Sirius and Remus say?"

Harry smiled wickedly. "They never found out," he told her proudly. He himself had been surprised when neither of them said anything about it – besides the becoming-a-snake secret, they'd always been very adept at figuring out when something went on, even something he thought inconsequential like when he ate only meat for breakfast and lunch. Figuring out he'd gone out "indecently" seemed to be something they might do; though he _had_ come back inside rather quickly, and they had been upstairs.

Although, now that he thought about it, Sirius _had_ made chicken noodle soup that night, which he only made when Salim wasn't feeling well after a full moon. Hm. Maybe they _did_ know and just didn't say anything directly about it.

Zuri sighed at his comment and said, "Well, I mean this in the best way possible, but I truly hope that you get an awful cold and are given a Pepperup potion and realize what _that_ entails so that you will just put on some more clothes and not get sick again."

Now Harry was a bit confused. "Sick?" he echoed. "I've never been sick. And I was _completely_ naked in the forest till the end of November and I was okay. The robe will be fine."

"Alright, Harry," Zuri sighed again. "As long as you know what you're doing, I suppose…Eat more vegetables, though – they'll make you at least a _little_ warmer."

Harry looked at her suspiciously, as though expecting falsehood. "Really?"

Hermione huffed. "Oh, don't look at me like that – I wouldn't lie to you. It's not so much that the vegetables themselves make you warm, it's that it balances your diet more, making your immune system stronger and less susceptible to sickness and getting cold."

"Okay…" he said doubtfully. He looked up and down the table before looking back at her with a frown. "None of these look like vegetables, Zuri."

Hermione sighed – Sirius and Remus must not have been very creative with their vegetable intake if Harry didn't recognize any of the vegetables on the table.

"Here – this is butternut squash," she said, pulling the bowl closer to them, but stopped when Harry vehemently shook his head.

"No – squash is _gross_ ," he told her. "Too sweet."

"Alright," Hermione accepted. "So you want the saltier vegetables…" she stood up to reach a plate further down the table. "Here," she said, depositing something bright red and stuffed with strong-smelling foods inside on his plate. "It's a stuffed bell pepper – not sweet at _all_ , and it has eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, spinach, avocado, and what looks like chopped onion inside. Some of them even have melted cheese on top. Very salty – right up your alley."

He picked up his fork to dig in to the pepper, and then looked at her confusedly. "I don't have an alley…" he told her with a wrinkled brow.

Hermione sighed. Really, the smallest of comments she didn't even think about were so confusing to a boy who'd grown up away from humans. "Don't worry about it, Harry – just eat the pepper. You'll like it."

She was wrong. He didn't like it – he _loved_ it. It had sausage and ham _and_ bacon, which instantly made it better, and the combination of the foods provided a very satisfying saltiness to his tongue. He ate two of them before he was pleasantly full, and smirked down at Sadi. Suddenly he was glad he got to taste more than one delicious flavor – Sadi wouldn't eat for another couple of days, while he could enjoy the flavor without overeating. It was a hassle, but if he got this for breakfast every morning and was still able to satisfy his guardians with his food intake, he could make the sacrifice. This would definitely have to be among his top five favorite foods.

It was as he was chewing the last bite of his breakfast that Professor Sprout came down to him at the table, holding out a piece of parchment.

"Here are your classes, Harry," she said cheerily. "If you have any trouble finding a classroom, you can find a prefect – whether they're in Hufflepuff or not, they should be able help you." She glanced at Hermione. "If all else fails, I'm sure Miss Granger would be willing to help you as well."

"Thank you," Harry replied, smiling at her and deciding he liked her.

"I'll see you in class, Harry," she bid farewell, making her way down the table to give others their schedules.

Harry looked down at the parchment in his hands and squinted to try and read the words. "Mon-day…Tooos-day…Wed-ness-day…Zuri, I think Wednesday is spelled wrong."

Hermione giggled and then sighed. "No, Harry, it's just the English language being stupid again – that _is_ how it's spelled, unfortunately."

Harry frowned and looked back down at the word, trying to memorize it before going to the schedule for that day.

"Herb-oh-logie," he said, and then scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, not recognizing the word.

"Herbology," Hermione corrected gently, just as Professor McGonagall came to her, handing her her own schedule. She thanked the woman and then looked down at the schedule.

"Harry, we have Double Herbology together first thing!" she exclaimed happily. "Oh, and we also have History of Magic together…we won't have any classes together on Thursday, though. Ugh, Gryffindors have Potions with the Slytherins _again_ – _and_ one of our free periods is at the same time as them! If I didn't think Headmaster Dumbledore had a sense of humor, at least I know it now. But this is _not_ funny."

"After Herbology I have Charms with the Slytherins," Harry observed, finally having worked out those words. He looked up at her. "Is Slytherin the one Sully is in?"

"Sully?" she said confusedly.

Harry thought for a moment, but couldn't remember the boy's actual name. Finally he settled on, "The one that Sadi bit on the train."

"Oh! You mean Malfoy. Yes, he's in Slytherin, though I can't begin to understand why. They prize ambition and yet he insists on getting by riding his Daddy's coattails. He's not sneaky at _all_ and acts just as brash as Ronald Weasley, if not more. What?" she stopped when she noticed his look of confusion.

"What are coat-tails?" he said confusedly.

"Well, the phrase means he's getting by on what his dad has done, or how influential he is, rather than putting forth any effort himself. The way he's aiming, he won't be known as Draco Malfoy – he'll be known as Lucius Malfoy's son."

"Which isn't much better, really," a voice chimed in across from them, and Harry looked up to see one of his roommates – Ernie, was it? – sitting down across from them and beginning to pile food on his plate. "Everyone knows all the Malfoys are as smarmy as they come. Rumor is Lucius Malfoy wasn't really Imperiused to be a Death Eater, but he just bought his way out of going to Azkaban."

"That can't be true," Hermione protested. "Surely the Ministry of Magic isn't so corrupt to let a murderer go free!"

Ernie shrugged and bit into a sugary pastry that Harry wanted to gag at. "Everyone knows the Ministry is corrupt. Not much to be done about it."

"It's all run on the upper levels by cowards," Another roommate – Wayne? – voiced his thoughts while he sat down as well. "And people like Lucius Malfoy line their pockets to do what he wants them to do. Really, even Minister Fudge is just the public face. He never would've won the election if it hadn't been for Malfoy throwing his money around."

"How do you know that?" Hermione demanded.

"My auntie is head of the DMLE," The girl who'd introduced herself as Susan said from a few seats down. "Another guy almost won as Minister until Malfoy stuck his nose in it, and a month later, _Fudge_ was Minister, even though he had less than half of the pre-election votes. My auntie doesn't take bribes from any of those pureblood supremacists, so she gets curses in the mail a lot by people who aren't happy about it. Even the Aurors she hires aren't allowed to be some of those crazies, but because of that the DMLE is always the one to get hit when budget cuts go through."

Her friend – Hannah, he thought – snorted and commented dryly, "And the budget cuts are so that the Minister can get some new expensive thing that catches his eye – it doesn't actually go anywhere _productive_."

"That's awful," Hermione gasped, agape. "The Aurors are supposed to protect people, but there's not going to be enough people signing up if the budget cuts go into their salaries!"

"My auntie thinks that's why they're doing it," Susan confided in a low voice, leaning in so that only the six of them could hear her. "She thinks that You-Know-Who is going to return, and the former Death Eaters in power are trying to deplete the Auror forces for that time so that it will be easier for them to take over."

"Oh, come on," Ernie said, sounding slightly panicked. "That's got to be just rumor hasn't it? You-Know-Who was killed years ago!" They all glanced at Harry, who was growing increasingly confused.

"Who?" he finally questioned.

"What?" Hannah looked at him, she now being the confused one.

"You said I knew who, but who is it?"

Hermione was the one to get it. "Lord Voldemort, Harry," she whispered. All the same, the other Hufflepuffs jumped or let out little "eep!"s.

"Why don't you say his name?" Harry said confusedly. "It's just a name."

"In the War," Susan explained quietly, "He cast a spell – a curse, really – that put a taboo on his name. Any time someone was brave enough to say it, Death Eaters – followers of You-Know-Who – would be notified and appear in seconds. Saying the name was like asking to be attacked."

"But he must still be alive, then," Harry said conversationally, "Considering what his name is."

They all quieted and stared at him. "What about his name?" Susan finally asked.

"Well, it means 'flight from death'," he said simply. "Is there some sort of magic that would make you unable to die? I don't know why else he would choose that name."

"It would have to be _very_ dark magic," Ernie finally said. "I doubt even the Malfoys would know that kind of magic. Maybe the Blacks would, but…" he cut himself off, glancing at Harry.

"Sirius doesn't use evil magic," Harry said bitingly. "His favorite spell is _Rictusempra_ , for serpents' sake."

"I didn't think he did," Ernie said quickly. "It's just that his family was very Dark – all of them Slytherin, except for Sirius Black. They make the Malfoys look like choir boys."

Harry was quiet for a minute, waiting for him to explain that last part before finally asking, "What are choir boys?"

"It means it makes the Malfoys look holy – innocent," Hermione explained while Ernie blinked at him for a moment before seeming to remember he had grown up in a forest away from people. "It's probably why Sirius hated them so much – you've seen yourself how very happy and fun to be around he is. He probably clashed with his family because of that."

Harry nodded his understanding at that – he'd picked up in Sirius and Salim's comments and conversations with each other and with him that Sirius hadn't gotten on with his family. He'd even run away from them when he was sixteen, just a little older than Harry was. (It had taken him a while to figure out that sixteen in human years was very young, as well as leaving one's family while still mostly a kid was not normal.)

"Anyway, the point is that it would be a very well-kept secret, this magic," Susan said. "A lot of the Blacks _were_ Death Eaters, so maybe they helped him with it."

"It's almost time for class though, so let's stop talking about this," Hannah said uncomfortably, and they all obeyed, rising to their feet and making their way out of the Great Hall together.

"Hey, guys!" Justin caught up to them, breathless from his run from the Hufflepuff dorms. "I slept in too late," he explained needlessly, combing his fingers through his hair to get it out of his face but otherwise not caring about his appearance. "Luckily Anthony came back and woke me up!" He looked appreciatively at the blonde boy who jogged up behind him, a lot less breathless than Justin, even though he'd jogged twice the distance – having jogged from the Great Hall to the dorms and then there.

"So, what happened with the Weasley twins?" Anthony said conversationally, falling into step beside them. "I heard you had a run-in with them before breakfast."

Harry's face darkened. "They tried to _make friends_ with me, as though they weren't responsible for taking me from…" He cut himself off and shook his head, falling silent.

"Wow – I didn't know it was them who had found you in the Forest," Hannah commented, properly deducing what he was going to say. "Some people were making bets and trying to figure out who it was who'd found them. Too many people were taking credit and making up crazy stories, but I don't think the Weasley twins spoke up at all about it."

"No, that's not true," a new voice chimed in. Harry turned his head and saw a girl with dark hair he hadn't met yet. He hadn't even noticed her join the group. "I remember they told people to stop making bets a lot, that Harry wouldn't feel great about it when he came to school and found out. Tried to explain he was just a normal kid, if a bit confused. Even after the Parseltongue abilities were made public, they were still sticking behind you and trying to stop rumors from spreading."

Harry was surprised by this information, though he didn't show it. Based on the redheads' words and actions he'd seen, he had assumed they didn't really care about him; that they were only talking to him now because they realized he was famous. They hadn't bothered him after leaving him in the castle the first time, and had allowed him to get used to everything and come back to school before introducing themselves properly. He wondered if maybe they _did_ have his best interests in mind – whether they were correct in their assumptions or not.

 _:You may be right about them, Sadi,:_ he admitted grudgingly in a mutter. She said nothing, but she did look particularly smug when he looked down at her.

"Why aren't you wearing _shoes_?" came Justin's sudden question when he looked down and saw that his new dormmate was indeed barefoot.

"I see no reason to," Harry answered simply, looking up from Sadi.

"Maybe you should, for outside?" the unidentified girl suggested tentatively. "There might be stuff on the ground…"

Harry snorted a bit at that. "I was completely naked in the Forest for _months_ , including winter time. I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Years," Hermione corrected, giving him a look. Right. He'd forgotten people didn't know about his snake form.

Harry nodded and covered with a fib, "Years, right. I keep getting the new times mixed up."

"How did you measure it before, in the forest?" Anthony asked curiously.

"Seasons," Harry said simply as they walked out the doors to the outside. He shivered slightly when a wind picked up, but otherwise gave no sign he was remotely uncomfortable. He didn't even walk slower when they walked over the rocks to get down to the greenhouses.

As they got closer, the wind blew in his direction and he caught a whiff of something sweet and strong that he recognized instantly. He grinned wolfishly when he saw the blond head talking with Professor Sprout, who looked distinctly disgruntled. He remembered his personal mission, and decided that now was the perfect time to start the first steps.

 _:Sadi, do you want to stalk some prey?:_ he hissed silkily, causing a couple of the Hufflepuffs to look at him sharply, not having expected to hear Parseltongue being spoken.

Sadi lifted her head and followed the direction of his gaze, and then hissed excitedly, _:Ohh, yes…:_

Harry kept his gaze on Lockhart, intense expression on his let out a wordless hiss of excitement and grabbed Zuri's hand.

"Come on," he said, tugging her arm till they were both running down the hill toward the professors, the rest of the Hufflepuffs hurrying along behind them, not wanting to miss what would surely turn out to be a spectacular event.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope none of you are too upset about the Weasley twins! I will say it's not permanent, though, for anyone about to leave this fic in protest. It's just that it will be a few more chapters before that happens.  
> Thanks for reading!


	20. Classes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a bit of a filler chapter…but you’ll see the next chapter has a whole lot of stuff that goes on in it! You’ll just have to wait another week for that one…¯\\_(ツ)_/ ¯  
> Hope you enjoy this one, anyhow! :)  
> P.S. Some people commented that you can eat bacon without cooking it. I suppose that might be true, but I imagine that even so you would get sick from it, even if there's no risk of getting E. coli poisoning...

When they got to the bottom of the hill, Lockhart was speaking, his back turned to them. “…bandages must be tied in a _fancy_ bow – not just a simple knot. You may be doctoring it, but it works just as well, and dare I say, _better_ if there’s some style involved…!”

“Hello, Professor!” Harry called in false cheer, stopping right behind him.

“Good mor…!” He turned as he replied, but abruptly stopped when he saw that it was Harry Potter who had bid him the greeting. His eyes moved to Sadi as she slithered much slower than she normally did – for the menacing look, no doubt – to curl around his neck. 

“Ah, hello – Harry,” Lockhart stammered, and looked sideways at Professor Sprout. “Well, Pomona, I see you have all in hand, so I’ll just – ”

“Do you like my sister’s scales?” Harry interrupted, and took a step closer, into the man’s personal space. “She’s just shed her skin, so she’s extra shiny. Isn’t it great?”

“I think she’s just _beautiful_ ,” Hermione gushed, and without hesitation, she reached over and ran her fingers down Sadi’s spine. In response, Sadi let out a long, low hiss, still loud enough for all of them to hear but seemingly due to the pleasure of being stroked. Only Harry and Hermione knew that she was exaggerating her hiss to be more menacing to the coward. Sure enough, Lockhart let out a small “eep!” and took a hasty step back.

Harry took another step forward, going into Lockhart’s personal space again and pretending he hadn’t noticed the man scoot back.

“Don’t you think so, Boetius?” He said conversationally. “She’s _gorgeous_ , isn’t she?” Sadi moved so that only her tail curled around his neck, moving the rest of her body so that her head came almost to eye level with the smarmy professor.

“ _I_ think so!” Anthony piped up behind them.

“Me, too!” Hannah chimed in.

And that seemed to set off a domino effect, as the rest of the assembled Hufflepuffs and even some stragglers iterated their admiration for Sadi’s shiny scales.

“Would you like to stroke her?” Harry said, only offering because he knew the man would refuse. He took another step forward when the blond man took another step back, staring at him with intense, dangerous eyes. Lockhart was pale, eyes wide, no trace of his shit-eating grin on his face.

“Go on, Professor!” Susan urged, which set off a chorus of the expression from the rest of them.

“It’s not like she’ll bite you,” Hermione said calmly, though with a definite vindictive look in her eyes that made Harry want to…well, hug her, he supposed. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling, but those were thoughts for later. He decided he definitely liked this side of Zuri.

“At least, if she does, you have enough time to get to Slaine,” Harry finished.

“Madam Pomfrey,” Hermione clarified, “ _Probably_ has something to help it.”

“So stroke her,” Harry’s voice dropped almost to a whisper, which only made it all the more menacing. Sure enough, the smell of urine filled his nose, and his suspicions were only confirmed when Sadi commented on the smell. Her hissing only caused Lockhart to whiten further and look dangerously close to passing out.

“Em, ah…I should be getting back to the castle,” Lockhart stammered. “Classes to prepare for, you know…” He took several steps back, and this time Harry didn’t follow him, only watching him with dark eyes. Lockhart nodded once to Professor Sprout, “Good day.”

Then he was bolting back up the path to the castle, robes billowing behind him in his speed to get away.

Harry stared after the man for a minute with a dark expression that the day before might have made the rest of the Hufflepuffs uneasy, but now they only agreed with him. If the man who had supposedly done all that was proclaimed in his books, he shouldn’t have been afraid of a twelve-year-old and his snake, Parseltongue abilities or not. These were only a portion of Harry’s thoughts, but it was a start.

Then Harry’s expression shifted in a second to one of amusement, and he looked down with a hiss at Sadi, _:Good job, my dear. That was terrific.:_

 _:Thank you, Harry,:_ Sadi said, pleased. She settled back down to be casually about his neck as usual. _:I haven’t had so much fun in ages.:_

_:Good, because we will likely be doing more of the same thing until the pompous git is thrown out of the castle or runs away from it. I’m not too picky on that front.:_

“Thank you, Zuri,” Harry said, turning to Hermione with a smile. “And everyone else,” he added, nodding to the rest of the Hufflepuffs.

“Five points to all of you!” Professor Sprout called, much more cheerful than she had been a few minutes prior. Everyone grinned at the unexpected points. “And an extra five to Miss Granger and Mr. Potter.” Hermione beamed.

“What for?” Harry said, confused as his Head of House began to turn to the door of the greenhouse. She turned and gave them a sneaky smile.

“For…being early to class,” she smirked. “I’m sure the rest of the Gryffindors will be along soon, but you can come on in right now.”

Harry was still confused, but he followed the rest of them into the greenhouse. Hermione could see he was still confused, so she leaned over and explained, “She’s only saying that if another professor gets upset about the sudden increase in Hufflepuff points and asks for a reason. She clearly doesn’t like Lockhart, either, so she’s awarding us points for that little scene.”

Oh. Harry didn’t bother to hide his grin at this realization. It was nice to have another adult against the fraud.

“I don’t want to see more than two Hufflepuffs to a table, alright?” Professor Sprout said once they’d all got in. “There will be a Gryffindor to every Hufflepuff to be sure there are no exclusions.”

“Hufflepuff is a lot different from Gryffindor,” Hermione commented quietly to Harry. “Though it’s expected, being a different House, but – no one here has said a single thing against me all morning. They just act like I’m another Hufflepuff.”

“Well, I suppose you _are_ an honorary one,” Harry mused, moving toward the back of the greenhouse, close to Professor Sprout. “They all know I like you better than all of them put together, as seen by how I sat with _you_ rather than the rest of them last night. And since Hufflepuffs are supposed to be friendly and loyal to everyone in their House, they know that the only way to be friends with me is if they’re friends with you, too.” He beamed, proud that he had deduced this on his own. And he felt even happier when Zuri threw her arms around him in a hug in response.

The Gryffindors came in a couple of minutes later, and Harry called out as soon as he saw Neville.

“Xylon!” he called, waving his arm to get his attention. “Xylon! Come to our group!”

The other boy looked a bit surprised, but he obediently followed, after glancing at the scowling Ronald Weasley and deciding to ignore him and come over anyway.

“Hi, Harry – Hermione – Justin,” he greeted the three of them.

“Hello, Xylon,” Harry said cheerfully. “How has your day gone so far?”

Neville shrugged. “Alright, I suppose. I’ve only been awake about an hour.”

“Plenty enough time for _Harry_ to get up to something,” Justin snickered. “Or two.”

Harry had to think a moment to figure out what Justin was talking about. “All the Hufflepuffs and Zuri helped me reveal Lockhart as a stupid coward. But I don’t know what’s the second thing you’re talking about.”

“Mate, you blew up at the Weasley twins!” Justin exclaimed in a hushed whisper.

Harry scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. “I didn’t blow them up!” he protested. “I walked away from them and they were fine!” He had seen a film once that Sirius had shown him where people “blew shit up”, and he mainly remembered lots of booms and exploding fire. That hadn’t happened at _all_ that morning. Zuri wasn’t kidding when she said rumors got wildly out of hand at Hogwarts.

“He means you yelled at them very passionately,” Hermione explained to Harry.

“Oh,” Harry said, still confused at the correlation but not caring enough to figure it all out. “So what?”

“Well, _everyone_ loves those two,” Justin explained. “Except for the Slytherins, but they don’t count, anyway. So it’s news that a _Hufflepuff_ is pissed with them – it’s probably all over the school by now.”

Harry’s face darkened slightly, but he was silent, and turned to Professor Sprout when she called for their attention.

Hermione glanced at him worriedly, noticing the abrupt shift in his mood, but it didn’t seem to be a big deal as he was back in good spirits by the end of the lesson. He even helped Professor Sprout with putting away the earmuffs, one of which Professor Sprout enlarged from the tiny form they’d been for Sadi.

“Gryffindors have Transfiguration next,” Hermione told Harry as they left the greenhouses, brushing the dirt from her hands. “So we’ll have to split off so that you can go to Charms.”

Harry pulled out his wand and pointed it at her. “ _Tergeo_ ,” he intoned, and after the dirt and sweat was all gone from her body, he said, “Okay. But we have lunch after, don’t we?”

Hermione nodded, and then said, “How did you learn that spell? It’s not a spell learned till sixth year.”

“Since I was outside a lot at home, I would always get really dirty,” Harry explained. “And I don’t like taking showers, so Sirius helped teach me that spell so I wasn’t getting dirt all over in the house. It took a long time to learn it, though.”

“Oh, that makes sense. You’ll have to teach me that spell,” Hermione told him.

Harry quirked a fond smile at her, knowing quite well of her love for learning. “Of course,” he agreed easily. After she had helped him in those early days in human life, learning to speak and read and write, teaching her a spell was really the least he could do. Besides that, he would always be willing to help his friend, so it was a no-brainer as far as he was concerned.

“Um…guys?” Neville said tentatively on the other side of Hermione, “We’re going to be late if we don’t hurry.”

“Oh, and I don’t want Professor McGonagall taking off points,” Hermione fretted. “Come on!”

And with no further words, they rushed off to their respective classes, while Harry wondered why being late would be bad.

…

Harry hadn’t realized his class was with the Slytherins. Sully scowled at him as soon as he walked in, but Harry ignored it and sat on the opposite side of the room, as far away from the awful boy as he could be.

An instant later, the only Hufflepuff in his dorm that he hadn’t met yet dropped into the seat beside him.

“Mind if we partner up?” the curly-haired boy said, but didn’t wait for an answer before sticking out his hand. “I’m Zacharias Smith – Helga Hufflepuff was my ancestor. That’s why I’m in Hufflepuff. It was real swell what you did with that Lockhart fellow – it’s sickening to watch all the girls falling over themselves to meet him, or to get his autograph. What do they think the guy will do? Marry them? That would be creepy, with how much older he is than even the seventh years, and I don’t think the pompous arse will risk his fame for that. Hopefully this makes DADA a lot more bearable, seeing as he’s not going to act so over-confident with you sitting right there. You could totally just sit in the front with your sna- _sister_ – what was her name, again? – and we’d be totally set.”

Harry’s head was spinning after that monologue that seemed to bounce all over the place. When the boy finally fell silent, Harry answered the one thing he could remember from the speech. “Sadi,” he finally said. “Her name is Sadi.”

“Attention, class – attention!” the tiny professor called, startling Harry. He’d never seen a human so…small. The professor was even shorter than _him_!

The professor started the class, but Harry didn’t pay much attention, simply watching the man. At first he’d thought that maybe it was a very intelligent child teaching, but his voice didn’t sound like a child’s. It was a bit squeaky, but not young. His movements were also graceful and athletic, something that couldn’t be achieved in a child that would be as young as his height suggested. Also, he was pretty sure that human children didn’t have white hair.

 ** _Is_** _he human, though?_ Harry wondered. He was pretty sure that the teachers were all human, but then there was also that giant man – Hagrid, who he decided was called Surtr. Maybe humans came in lots of different sizes? But then why were most of them around the same size?

Then it came to him. They must be like snakes – some snakes were very tiny, like a worm, while some were large anacondas. But the average ones seemed to be more populated, with the other few thrown in.

Harry nodded to himself, not noticing Zacharias’ odd look at the action. Yes, that must be it. Surtr was the anaconda of their group of snakes, and Professor Flitwick – or, Saghir – was a threadsnake. He wondered if there were other threadsnakes at Hogwarts – he had yet to notice any, but that didn’t mean much.

After that, he participated in class with no problem, though by then it was half over.

As they were packing up their bags, Saghir came over to his desk. “Will you stay after class, Mr. Potter?”

“I have lunch next,” Harry explained. “I’m supposed to meet Zuri.”

“It won’t be but a moment,” the professor assured, so Harry reluctantly stayed back while the rest of the class filed out for lunch.

 _:I’m hungry,:_ Harry complained to Sadi in a grumble. _:And I’m supposed to meet Zuri!:_

 _:Aww, poor hatchling,:_  Sadi cooed mockingly. _:Grow up – it’s only for a minute. I’m sure Zuri will be fine.:_

Harry grumbled wordlessly, but he knew she was right.

After the last student had left, Saghir pulled up a stool in front of Harry’s desk and sat down right across from him.

“I noticed you weren’t paying attention in the first part of the lesson,” Saghir said. “I wanted to make sure you understood what was going on. Is everything alright?”

“Yes,” Harry told him. “I was just figuring out why you’re so small, but I know now.”

For some reason, the expression on the man’s face immediately closed off to be guarded. “Oh?” he said carefully. “And what is that?”

“You’re not a hatchling, because you’re much too precise in your movements,” Harry explained simply and unashamedly. “You’re like a threadsnake – you’re smaller, but ultimately that doesn’t mean much. Most of us here are like the typical snake, and Surtr – er, Hagrid – is like an anaconda.”

Saghir’s expression was warring between baffled and amused. “I see,” he said, voice shaking with the effort of holding back a laugh. “And you compare everything to the life of snakes?”

“Of course,” Harry answered. “It’s what I know, after all.”

“Yes, indeed,” Saghir mused. “Will you light your wand for me, Mr. Potter, so that I know you know the first part of the review lesson?”

“If you stop calling me Mr. Potter,” Harry bargained. “I prefer Harry.”

Saghir blinked in astonishment at the utter lack of societal niceties on Harry’s part, but he nodded his agreement. “Alright, Harry.”

Without further ado, Harry lifted his wand and thought, _Lumos_ , and the end of the wand lit up with blue light.

“Amazing,” Saghir said, staring at the light in amazement. “We don’t start silent casting until sixth year. Are there other spells that you can do silently?”

“The tickling spell, the dancing spell, _Finite Incantatem_ , the color-changing spell, the snake movement spell, the warming charm, the summoning spell, and I’m working on _Tergeo_.” Harry listed off.

“I’ll have to watch you this year, Harry,” Saghir said happily while Harry turned the light off on the wand. “It seems you may be a natural at this. You can go on to lunch now – I’m sure you don’t want to hear my babbling all day.”

“Thank you, Saghir,” Harry said, and then he was out the door.

Professor Flitwick stared after him in confusion. “’Saghir’?”

…

Later that evening, after dinner, Harry could be found sitting with Hermione (no surprise there) in the Hufflepuff Common Room, head bent over a book at the table and hand working carefully. Hermione was about halfway finished writing an essay that wasn’t due until next Tuesday. Sadi was dozing in front of Harry, lying casually across the entire diameter of the table. They were the only ones at the table, though many Hufflepuffs were laughing and chatting with their friends, only a couple of them doing homework at other tables. All in all it was a casual, relaxed atmosphere, though Hermione had expected really nothing less from Hufflepuff.

She looked up from her essay a moment, giving her hand a rest and gazing about the room. Really, Hufflepuff was so much different from Gryffindor. If she’d been trying to do homework in Gryffindor Tower, she would’ve had at least four people urging her to have fun and stop being a stick in the mud by now. But here, they had respected her desire and given her space to do her thing. In Gryffindor Tower, there would be lots of shouting as people interrupted their friends and tried to be heard over the other, but in Hufflepuff the only reason for the loudness was because there were several _different_ conversations going on at once. In Gryffindor Tower, if someone had brought a friend in from another House, they would’ve been shouted out and made to leave the oh-so-secret Common Room, but here they had just looked between her and Harry and then shrugged and went about their own business.

 _How much would everything have been different if **I’d** been in Hufflepuff? _Hermione wondered, tapping her quill against her lips. _I would’ve had friends, maybe not from the very start, but at least some respect. Really only a few Hufflepuffs ever bullied me – the majority of the House just ignored me, like a was just another student._

 _But then I wouldn’t have been in the Hospital Wing that day. I wouldn’t have met Harry._ That thought made her pause, and she glanced at Harry thoughtfully.

_Harry’s said before that the only reason he agreed to stay here in the first place was so that he could come to Hogwarts and stop the bullies. So if I hadn’t met him…he might be living in the forest again right now! Of course we can’t know for sure, but…goodness. Suddenly I’m grateful to have been bullied all of first term!_

“Whatcha doin’?” Susan Bones’ voice sounded behind them. Hermione looked up as the girl sat down at the table and looked between her and Harry.

“I’m doing homework,” Hermione answered. “Professor McGonagall set an essay that I’d like to get done very soon. I’m perhaps halfway done right now – I’m just trying to get a transition paragraph right.” She frowned thoughtfully down at her paper, tapping her quill against her lip again.

“Do you need some help?” Susan offered. “I have an aptitude for Transfig.”

“Sure,” Hermione said, not knowing how much the girl could really help her.

She was proven wrong when about fifteen minutes later Hermione was finished with the essay. She gave Susan a grateful, beaming smile.

“Thank you,” she said, “I don’t know how long it would have taken me without your help.”

“It’s not a problem,” Susan said easily, then tilted her head at Harry, who had been quietly doing his own thing the entire time. “Harry, what are you up to?”

Harry looked up at her confusedly. “’Up to’?” he repeated blankly.

“She means what are you doing,” Hermione explained, rolling up her essay now that it was dry.

“Oh.” He looked down at his work. “Coloring.”

Indeed, he had been coloring – currently he was working on coloring in a Demiguise in dark purple. On the page previous was a green and blue Chimaera. Some of the lines of crayon came out of the lines, but it was clear that some effort had gone into coloring it properly.

“Why are you coloring?” Susan asked confusedly. She hadn’t colored since she was perhaps seven – she was well grown out of it by now.

“Sirius and Salim said it would help with my handwriting,” Harry explained. “It’s supposed to help me learn better control of my fingers and hand and wrist. They said I should color for at least an hour every day so that I can learn it quickly.”

“Haven’t you been coloring for more than an hour by now, though?” Susan questioned. They’d been back from dinner almost two hours now, and she’d seen him sit down with Hermione at the table soon after coming back.

Harry nodded. “Yes, but I like coloring. It’s so… _fascinating_.”

“Fascinating,” Susan repeated blankly.

Harry nodded again, eagerly this time. “The color comes from the crayon, and makes lines on the paper! How does it do that? It doesn’t even make mess, like ink does. But the crayon does get smaller when I color.” He frowned down at the purple crayon in his hand that was rounded out at the end. “And when I first started coloring I broke a lot of crayons. So Salim got me these big ones. They’re easier to hold, too.”

“It makes sense,” Susan agreed, sitting back in her chair and observing him as he bent his head again to continue coloring. His tongue poked out the corner of his mouth seemingly unconsciously as he focused all of his effort on coloring inside the lines.

Of course she had known very soon after he’d returned to the Wizarding World that Harry Potter had grown up in the forest. She knew this logically, but somehow it hadn’t really clicked until that conversation that he had to assimilate to a completely different world from what he knew. Writing and reading came as second nature to her by now – she hardly had to think about it, having grown up learning it and other skills necessary for everyday life. But Harry hadn’t known about any of it – he may as well have been literally raised by animals. The things she took for granted, he’d only just found out about the existence of less than a year ago.

She suddenly felt great respect for the boy who was nine months her junior.* It must have taken enormous effort on his part – and his guardians, for teaching him – for him to have gotten this far in such a short amount of time. She had heard rumors that he’d only spoken Parseltongue at first, and had to learn how to speak English, and with the Parseltongue accent that bled through with every word, she was inclined to believe it. For him to be able to speak so fluently now, a mere nine months later, must have taken some serious dedication.

Which wasn’t to say he acted the perfect human. Little comments and allusions he didn’t understand, and sometimes she could see him reminding himself how to do something as though it was a physical thing. And by now the whole school likely knew he’d gone around barefoot all day – not exactly the norm. Not to mention the rumor that he wasn’t wearing anything beneath his outer robes – though that one couldn’t be proven. Of course it was clear he wasn’t wearing his shirt and tie, but he may be wearing everything else – who knew?

Smiling to herself, Susan bid farewell to Harry and Hermione, and made her way over to Hannah to play a game of Gobstones.

…

“So, puppy, how did your first day of classes go?” Sirius said about a half hour later while Harry lied under his blankets in bed. It had been dark for about an hour now, and Harry’s brain was telling him to go to sleep now. He wanted to talk with his guardians first, though. He hadn’t expected to miss them so much while he was at school.

“It was great!” Harry said enthusiastically. “I had Herbology with Zuri and Xylon and then Charms with the Slytherins – Sully clearly hates me, but I don’t care. I hate him, too. I had History of Magic with Zuri and Xylon again too, but I don’t like that class very much. It makes me really sleepy, which is weird because the sun is shining through the windows. It’s like when I get a calm potion.”

“That’s how History of Magic has been for the past three hundred years or so,” Sirius snorted.

“Well, I didn’t like it,” Harry declared. “So I practiced my writing. I think Zuri thought I was taking notes. _She_ was. I wonder how she could pay attention enough. Xylon wasn’t paying attention either.”

“Harry, who is Xylon?” Salim asked, leaning over to see Harry better in the mirror.

Harry blinked, trying to remember the boy’s human-given name. “Neville…” he said slowly, thinking, “I don’t remember his last name, but it was very strange.”

“Neville Longbottom?” Sirius suggested, a look on his face that Harry didn’t recognize and hadn’t ever seen before.

“Yeah – that was it,” Harry agreed with a nod. “He smells like plants and the forest.”

“Ah,” Sirius said with a sad sort of smile, the expression reflected on Salim’s face. “Neville will be a good friend to have.”

Harry nodded, suspecting that his guardians knew something he didn’t about the boy but not pushing it. He was sure that if it was important they would tell him.

“He’s bullied, too,” Harry told them. “Except I don’t know why, because he has friends already in Gryffindor that he is with a lot. I don’t know why his friends would let other people bully him.”

“Hm,” Salim said. “Well, I’m sure you’ll be diligent in keeping an eye on him – you are very loyal, after all.”

“Duh,” Sirius added. “You’re a Hufflepuff. It’s in your blood.”

Harry didn’t know exactly what was meant by Sirius’ last comment, but he found himself too tired to care.

They talked for five or ten more minutes, before Salim finally said he should be getting to sleep. Without argument, he bid them goodnight and dropped off seconds later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m gonna stop it right there, because the next part will be too long to keep in the same chapter. Hope you enjoyed it!  
> *Eleanor Columbus, the actress for Susan Bones, has her birthday on October 12. Since we don’t know Susan’s actual birthday, I’ve taken the actress’ birthday as its date. And, since you have to be 11 by September 1, she would be going to school later than some of the people closer in age to her, much like Hermione did, which is why she would be a full nine months older than him.  
> Boetius – foolish pride  
> Surtr – mythical giant  
> Saghir – short  
> Thanks for reading!


	21. Troi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who has been following this fic for some time now, you know that I usually post the chapter on the weekend. However, thanks to rebekahalana, I found the fic I was looking for! (For anyone who saw my profile page on the 'other site', I was desperate.) And thanks to asking right there, I was able to find it with the help of several lovely reviewers (like absmckechnie and carick of hunter moon) to send me PM suggestions!  
> So, because I'm so happy to have found the fic, I decided to post this chapter a few days sooner in celebration. ;)  
> I was finished with this chapter when I suddenly realized I'd forgotten to put in the scene with Lucius Malfoy getting angry…oops! So I'm sorry if it seems to jump a bit, or if it seems like it was thrown in just for kicks and giggles…but, it does make the chapter almost 2000 words longer than normal length, so you should be happy with the longer chapter. ;)

Harry was bored. He had discovered when he went down to breakfast that morning that Hufflepuff second years had a free period first thing – but the Gryffindors still had Charms with the Ravenclaws. This meant that not only were the rest of the Hufflepuffs in his dorm sleeping in (and skipping breakfast!), but he couldn't even spend his free time with Zuri or Xylon. He didn't know anyone else in Slytherin – besides the obvious – and he had no desire or intention of making friends with Sully just to cure his boredom.

But the sun was up! So he couldn't go back to sleep. Also, Sadi had gone hunting before he went for breakfast, so he couldn't even have his sister's company.

So, he wandered the halls, examining interesting portraits and staring down a stubborn suit of armor that blocked his way when he tried to go down one corridor. He hissed at a mangy cat with red eyes (!?) when it glared at him condemningly just for being there, and it shot off down the corridor to get away from him.

It was about halfway through the period when he was wandering the floor below the one with the Great Hall when he heard it.

He hadn't heard anyone else really cry before. He'd _seen_ Sirius and Salim cry, but they were always silent about it, because it was sort of a bittersweet crying. He knew when _he_ cried it was rather slobbery and louder, because he didn't hold his sadness back. He wasn't sure he even knew how – not in human form, anyway, where all of his emotions seemed to be more heightened than in his snake form.

But he remembered when he first met Zuri – she'd been crying the first time he saw her. Not sobbing, no, but trying to hide her tears and hold her sadness below the surface. She'd been trying to put on a brave face that had been cracking over time.

Hers was what the crying sounded like now, but it wasn't – _her_. The person crying was unfamiliar to him, but he still knew pain when he heard it, even if this person was trying to hold it inside. And he couldn't just let someone continue to be sad without trying to help.

He traipsed quietly down the corridor, listening for where the crying was coming from. As he got closer, he caught the scent, and smelled cloves and salt water (which was likely just the tears he was smelling). He could tell that it was a boy.

He might have missed it if he hadn't been looking for it. Going down a dark hallway away from the main corridor, he found a heavy tapestry on one wall with a man holding a large snake around his shoulders – a ball python, by the looks of it. He paid no mind to it, especially as it wasn't moving like the portraits, and instead pushed the edge aside so that he could see the passageway behind it.

Sitting on the floor of the passageway was a boy with tightly curled brown hair, but that was all he could make from him, as the boy had his head tucked into his knees as he tried to hold in his sobs.

Not wanting to startle him, Harry let the tapestry fall into place behind him, a bit of light peeking into the tunnel from where the bottom of the tapestry fell a couple of inches short of the ground. He leaned forward and touched the boy lightly on the shoulder to get his attention.

Immediately the boy silenced sat up straight, staring unseeingly around in alarm. "Who's there?" he demanded, but his voice quaked from the repressed sobs.

"It's me," Harry explained, even though he didn't know the boy, and even after seeing his face, he didn't recognize him – though he did look familiar. He had very dark skin, making him a bit harder to see in the dark than Harry would have expected. "What's wrong?"

Finally the boy's eyes settled on him as his vision adjusted, and Harry saw a slight sneer cross his features. "Potter," he spat, though it seemed almost halfhearted. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to find who was crying," Harry explained.

"I wasn't _crying_!" the boy denied.

"Yes, you were," Harry corrected, wondering why the boy was lying. "I heard you. And I saw you. What – "

"No, you didn't!" the boy exclaimed angrily, standing up quickly so he wasn't at a height disadvantage. Harry realized he must have been around his age, for the boy was only a few inches taller than him and he knew he was short. "And you _better_ not tell anyone that you did!"

"Why would I tell anyone?" Harry was now even more confused. First the boy lied and then suggested Harry would tell everyone he'd been crying. What was even the point in telling someone, even if he _would've_ wanted to? "I don't know anyone who would want to know. I just wanted to see if I could help you."

"How could you _possibly_ help me, Potter?" the boy said disdainfully, crossing his arms.

"Well, you haven't told me what's wrong, so I don't know," Harry pointed out, wondering just what had happened to the boy for him to be spouting nonsense with no thought. Was he cursed, maybe?

"I'm not going to tell you what's wrong!" the boy practically growled at him.

"Why not?" Harry wondered. "Don't you want to feel better? When I'm sad, Sirius and Salim help make me happy again. But they're not here right now, so I can pretend to be them, if you want?"

The boy was silent, staring at him stonily for a moment, but then his expression crumbled again and he sank to his knees and back into a sitting position, leaning against the wall.

"Sit down," he said dully. Harry did so, concerned with how the boy's voice had completely changed. They sat across from each other, so they could each see the other's face in the dim lighting – except that the boy had looked down again, so he couldn't see Harry and Harry couldn't see the boy's expression anymore. He _could_ read body language though, and the boy just seemed…defeated.

"It's a bit of a long story," the boy sighed and pondered a moment before continuing. "When I was about a year old, my father found out my mother had cheated on him with one of his friends. It was a one-time thing, and she was very sorry, but needless to say, he was furious. He left her – and me, I suppose – that very night." He was quiet a long time, while Harry wondered what "cheating on" meant before deciding not to ask, in case the boy stopped talking.

After a while, the boy continued in a voice hardened and yet wavering with pain at the same time, "But not before cursing her. She didn't recognize the curse – either it was very Dark or something he'd created. If he created it then he must've suspected her of cheating on him, but she's said he was so surprised when he found out.

"She was already very beautiful – and a pureblood, at that, which made her attractive to all breed of wizards. But the curse…it works like the call of a siren. It draws men in – puts them under a spell to make them think they're madly in love. And the curse makes my mother believe she's just as deeply in love." His voice was tinged with disgust as well as sadness as he finally lifted his head a bit so that Harry could see the tears still staining his cheeks.

"So, they inevitably get married. All is well, right? Because even though it's a curse, they're still happy. And they make plans to have a family – to have a _baby_ ; a little brother or sister for me and a cute little doll for them." His voice is sarcastic, and even Harry can pick up on it where usually it would go over his head.

"And then she gets pregnant," the boy continued, more sadly this time, looking off to the side. "And that's when the curse is really revealed to be just that – a _curse_. Because as soon as she finds out she's pregnant, the baby dies within the week. And then the husband dies. It's different every time – a heart failure, a stroke, falling off a broom…all seeming accidents that are the result of the curse.

"And the worst part is that after he's dead, she forgets about it." The boy looked back at Harry. "She can still remember she was married to him, but she couldn't care less that he's now dead. She forgets how distraught she was between the time the baby died and her husband died. She forgets how she would fall into such a state of depression that no one could get her out of bed or to the loo – not her husband and not her only son. She forgets it all and is just so apathetic about it she seems heartless. And so, she goes to find another husband, and the cycle continues."

"And because she's so indifferent about her husbands' deaths afterwards, people talk. They don't know about the curse, and they think she's killing off her husbands for the money. I don't know if it's coincidence or not, but all of her husbands have been very wealthy. Any time they die, we get richer.

"So, because my father was angry and petty, he cursed my mother into never being able to love long again – as well as the social stigma against the Zabini name now, because no one will trust her…and me, in consequence. And for good reason. If any man gets too close to her, he will likely be the next one to die." He bent his head to stare at his knees again.

"I received a letter at breakfast this morning," his voice whispered brokenly. "Her sixth husband died last night in his sleep. I didn't really care about this one, but…" He shook his head. "People have already found out, so I've been on the receiving end of some unsavory comments. I shouldn't be crying, but…it got to me." He looked ashamed that he had been crying at _all_ , let alone get caught doing so.

"It's okay to cry," Harry told him, scooting across the ground to sit next to the boy. "Salim told me so."

"Who's 'Salim'?" Blaise questioned, though he didn't sound like he much cared for the answer.

"My other guardian," Harry explained. "He said it's a human instinct when you're sad to cry, so you don't have to worry. You're acting perfectly normal."

The boy snorted. "You're odd, Potter. And a Slytherin is never supposed to show their emotions."

"Why?" Harry said confusedly. "Are Slytherins different from everyone else?"

The boy met his eyes, staring at him incredulously. "Well – _yes_!" he said as though it should be obvious.

"How?" Harry was even more confused at the confirmation that the Slytherins were different from everyone else. _He_ hadn't noticed anything different about them, and he thought he was rather observant. "I mean, I know you live in a different place from the other Houses, and you have a different color and sit at a different table, but…do you guys have special powers?"

Blaise stared at him like he was joking – or particularly stupid. "No – it's…we're just different!"

"Hmm…" Harry said with scrunched eyebrows, still not understanding. "Is it because people are afraid of snakes? Lots of people here are afraid of Sadi – and me, because I can talk to her. And Slytherin's animal is a snake, so do they think you're all bad because of _that_? Is that why everyone thinks you're different – even you?"

"I don't know, Potter," the boy said tiredly, giving up on explaining it to him.

"Well, anyway – it's okay to be sad about it," Harry told him, deciding to ask Sirius and Salim about the Slytherin differences later. "And you don't have to be embarrassed, either. I won't tell anyone."

"I don't feel much like crying anymore, to be honest," the boy said dryly.

Harry beamed at him. "See?" he exclaimed. "I _told_ you that you would feel better!" He felt very pleased with himself for cheering the boy up without hardly trying. He wasn't quite sure what he'd done right, but he'd have to repeat this any other time he needed to cheer someone up.

The boy just shook his head and scrubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands to get rid of the excess tears. As he rose to his feet, Harry following his example, the bell rang to signal the end of first period.

"Oh, good!" Harry exclaimed. "Finally!"

"Finally what?" the boy said confusedly, thinking that surely Harry couldn't be excited for classes?

"Finally Transfiguration!" Harry exclaimed, pushing aside the tapestry and stepping out. "Come on, Troi!"

Blaise followed him out of the passageway before the newly-dubbed name processed. "Troi?"

"You have very curly hair," Harry said as though this explained everything, before trotting off down the corridor.

This still didn't make sense to the Italian wizard, but he just shook his head. Clearly Potter was off his rocker – half the things he said made no sense. And somehow, as he trailed along behind him to Transfiguration, he wasn't surprised in the least to notice that Potter was wearing nothing but his outer robe.

…

Harry decided he liked Troi. As his Sorting into Hufflepuff made the amount of second year students an odd number, he had paired with the dark-skinned boy while Sully had grouped with his bodyguards in Transfiguration, and he found the boy's comments very interesting. The boy understood Transfiguration very well, and managed the transfiguration of a beetle into a button on the fourth try. The fact that Harry got it on the second try didn't matter. After Troi had gotten comfortable enough with him, they spent the rest of class trying to outdo the other in making a better button design. Troi won though, when he made a toggle button in the shape of a snake. Harry didn't mind – he was just glad the boy wasn't sad and crying anymore.

He decided he liked the professor, too – Shamora, he remembered. Although she was strict, she was also patient and helpful to anyone struggling with the spell. She accepted no nonsense from the students either, making sure they weren't straying from the lesson. She even gave Harry a little smile when she saw him working with Troi in the better-button competition. (He didn't know why she was happy with that, though.)

After Transfiguration, they parted ways for lunch after Troi said he shouldn't sit with him anywhere. This only confused him, but Harry accepted it and sat with Zuri at the Gryffindor table.

Unfortunately after lunch he had another free period – why the professors scheduled both of Hufflepuff second years' free periods of the week on the same day was a mystery to him – but by this time Sadi had come back, so he sat with her in the outdoor courtyard to get some fresh air and chatted idly about the classes, and about his new friend Troi.

It was as he was sitting outside that a teacher he didn't recognize found him, telling him that he was requested in the Headmaster's office. Harry whitened in fear, but the professor, who introduced herself as Professor Burbage, said that his guardians were waiting for him in the office as well. Harry didn't know why Sirius and Salim would be there, but he was excited to see them nonetheless, and it was all he could do to stay at the same pace as the professor leading him, seeing as he didn't know where to go.

The professor spoke the password to the stone griffin, and as it opened to stairs, Harry idly wondered what "cockroach clusters" were. After directing him to go up the stairs, the professor left him, and Harry followed her instructions, trusting that Sirius and Salim would be there when he saw the frightening man he'd bitten just a few months prior.

When the Headmaster bade him enter, Harry walked in, and the first thing he saw was Sully, and a man who looked remarkably like him, only older. Sully looked smug, but Harry ignored him, eyes passing over Cilla as well, and finally coming to rest on Sirius and Salim, who had stepped forward when he entered. Harry, uncaring for the other three, ran to throw his arms around both of his guardians.

"Hello!" Harry beamed up at them happily, though he noted that while they were happy to see him, their facial expressions seemed a bit pinched – whether in annoyance or stress, Harry couldn't be sure.

The man with the flowing white-blond hair didn't let the other two return the greeting, his gaze fastening on the olive-colored snake curled about Harry's neck.

"And _this_ is the beast that attacked my son?" he demanded self-righteously.

"Yes, Father," Sully said, and when Harry turned around, wondering why Sirius and Salim kept a hand on each of his shoulders, Sully gave him a smug look. "I was sick the entire train ride because of it."

"And just what have you done about this, Dumbledore?" the blond man, whom Harry supposed must be Sully's father, demanded. "Have you told this brat that snakes aren't allowed as pets? Have you taken the creature away? Have you even taken House points?!"

"Sadi is not a pet!" Harry yelled at him, suddenly understanding why the two were here.

"Harry, my boy," Cilla tried to intervene, but Harry wouldn't let him continue, and glared at him loathsomely.

"Don't you talk to me!" he demanded, pointing a finger at him accusingly before looking back at Sully.

"And if _you_ hadn't tried to barge your way into a compartment with people you so clearly hated, and then proceeded to bully everyone there and had one of your bodyguards attack Xylon, and then threaten my life, you wouldn't have been bitten in the first place!"

"The fact remains," the elder Malfoy said with a dark glare to Harry, "That _Potter's_ snake, whom is not even allowed at Hogwarts, has brutally attacked my only son, _heir_ to the Noble House of Malfoy. Dumbledore, I demand some punishment!"

"Actually," Salim spoke up mildly behind Harry, "There is no rule that says snakes are not allowed as pets at Hogwarts. Salazar Slytherin himself made sure that it was in the rulebook when Hogwarts was founded." He gave the pompous man a disapproving look. "Surely you, who is a Slytherin, ought to know that better than I."

"I don't care _what_ kind of animal it is," the man hissed. "Even if it had been an owl to attack my son, the fact remains that my son, heir to the Noble House of Malfoy, was brutally attacked, on the orders of a boy who can hardly speak English! Clearly, despite your teachings since the Potter brat has been found, he has learned nothing about the way that _civilized_ people are to behave."

"Yes, we understand that your son is the heir to the _Noble House of Malfoy_ , Lucy," Sirius sneered the name of the House mockingly. "But did you not catch what my godson said? _Your_ son threatened _my_ son's life. And it was _after_ that that Sadi attacked. And while your House may be _Noble_ ," he sneered again, "The House of Black is Noble _and Most Ancient_. Your little _brat_ threatened the heir of _my_ House first. My family has _killed_ people for lesser slights, and your son would do well to remember that he is _not_ the Heir with the most pull here at school anymore."

"How dare you threaten _my_ son…!" the man started, but Sirius cut him off.

"Yours threatened mine first," he said sharply. "And you seem intent on seeing Harry as some kind of _animal_ who doesn't know how to behave, but you seem to forget that he grew up with a different set of rules than we did. He has learned a lot the past several months, but when he is threatened, or when someone he loves is threatened, you can bet he will come after you with all the fierceness _of_ an animal. And I, for one, have no intention of trying to stop him."

"Harry," Salim said lowly, leaning down a bit so only Harry would hear him. "I want you to say something to Mr. Malfoy in Parseltongue. I don't care what it is, but don't let Sadi attack him, alright?"

 _:Ulysses,:_ Harry hissed as soon as Sirius was done speaking and before the elder blonde man could get a word in. _:Don't make me any angrier than I already am.:_

Salim's likely desired effect came through when the man whitened at the sound of the Parseltongue. He attempted to keep his arrogant sneer in place, but it was clear to everyone that it had slipped.

"What's the matter, Malfoy?" Sirius mocked. "Is the Parseltongue giving you flashbacks to your glory days?"

Harry didn't know what Sirius meant by that, but it had the instant effect of making Ulysses angrier.

What he hadn't expected was for the man to suddenly jump forward, hands going around his neck – no, not his neck, but to…

_Sadi!_

_:Get off me!:_ she hissed wildly when the man tried yanking her from around his neck.

The room was in chaos. Sully was shouting threats at Harry, while Cilla tried to call for peace, actually getting up from behind his desk to approach the squabble. Sirius and Salim were yelling at Ulysses, but were hesitant to use their wands due to the close proximity and the possibility of hitting Sadi or Harry. They tried yanking Harry – and in effect, Sadi – back away from the idiotic blonde, but Harry was, for a moment, too shocked to do anything. An attack on Sadi, while she hung around his neck, was the _last_ thing he would've expected. Ulysses seemed to be more the sort to make empty verbal threats. He couldn't _believe_ he hadn't even suspected that this attack was coming.

But then, in a split second, his brain caught up with him, and it processed – _he's trying to hurt Sadi!_ – and his vision went red as rage and a healthy dose of fear for Sadi went through him.

He didn't bother with words. One second, he was still, and in the next, his teeth slickened with venom while he leapt forward, fastening his jaw on the closest bit of Malfoy he could reach, which happened to be the junction where his neck met with his shoulder.

The man shouted and pulled instinctively away from the source of his pain, releasing his grip on Sadi as he did so. As soon as she was released, she shot down Harry's robes and went to wrap around his arm, where it was covered by the long sleeves and likely a lot safer. Harry covered the arm holding her with his other arm and stepped back, out of Ulysses' reach.

The room was now quiet, aside from Ulysses' enraged, heavy breathing as he stared at Harry loathsomely. Harry looked quite deranged, hair a bigger mess than usual due to the struggle, and blood from the bite dribbling from his lips. Instinctively, his teeth were bared, forgetting that he was not in his snake form. Harry felt no regrets for biting the awful bully, though; he could still feel Sadi's shocked, fearful trembling against his arm as she coiled tightly around it.

"As you can see," Cilla's mild voice broke the silence. "Harry takes great offense to any threat to his family. As such, it would be quite foolish to punish him for something that, with the same feelings, you yourself came in here because of."

"You stay away from my family, Ulysses," Harry hissed, as though Cilla hadn't spoken. _:Because next time I'll do more than nip you.:_

"This isn't over, _Potter_ ," the man glared, looking pale and clutching a hand to the bite. "Draco – come!"

Harry watched them leave through dark, threatening eyes. Sully glared at him on the way out, but Harry didn't care. He could glare all he wanted if he stayed away from him and those he loved.

"Well," Cilla said cheerfully in the tense silence that followed the Malfoys' departure, "Harry, I do believe free period is ending for you. Perhaps you should get on to class, hm?"

…

Defense Against the Dark Arts was very amusing to Harry. After the incident in the Headmaster's office, Harry actively tried not to let it bother him, even while Sadi refused to come out from under his sleeve. That was enough to fuel his rage, but he thought that perhaps Boetius' fumbling and stupidity while in his proximity might be able to cheer him up a bit.

Boetius must have forgotten he was in Hufflepuff, because when Harry first saw him he appeared the same pompous idiot as he did when he wasn't around – but then when the blond man turned around and saw him, he paled and took a step back, trying and failing to make it look casual.

"We'll be taking a quiz first!" the man practically shouted, even though everyone was quiet. "If you've read the material, it should be quite easy for you – I'm sure you'll all pass it." He had one of the Ravenclaws – Mandy, he thought her name was – pass out the tests to all of them.

Harry looked down at the test and began sounding out the words to the questions in his head.

_What – is – Gil-der-oy – Lock-hart's – fa-vor-ite – color?_

_What – is – Gil-der-oy – Lock-hart's – sec-ret – am-bi-tion?_

_How – man-y – ti-mes – has – Gil-der-oy – Lock-hart – won – Wi-tch – Week-ly's – Most – Ch-arm-ing – Sm-ile – A-ward?_

He looked up at the blond professor sitting with a smile much too forced to be real at his desk. _Is he serious? What does any of this have to do with Defense?_

Deciding that the professor must be joking, like Sirius often did, he set his parchment aside and waited for the other students to realize it so that they could get to the _real_ lesson.

_:What is wrong with your test?:_

Harry turned his head slightly to talk with Sadi, who had her head poked out from under his robe. He was only grateful she was starting to become less jittery – enough that she could speak coherently again and even poke her head out in full view.

 _:He's playing a joke,:_ Harry explained as though nothing was different about Sadi's actions. He knew she wouldn't want to verbally acknowledge her fear just yet. _:All of the questions are useless questions just about him. I think it will be soon when the other students realize this, too.:_

 _:If he really is joking,:_ Sadi mused. _:He is pompous and arrogant enough to give a quiz just about him. That's what his books are about, too – I overheard some students talking about it.:_

 _:But his favorite color?:_ Harry said dryly. _:Who even_ _ **has**_ _a favorite color? It's just a color.:_

"Mr. Potter," the professor's voice wavered slightly but he continued on, "Is there something wrong with your test?"

"I figured out that it was a joke, Boetius," Harry explained, and looked around at the other students. "But I don't think anyone else has." There were several titters of laughter.

"Oh," Harry said. "I suppose they figured it out, since they're laughing. But I don't really think it's _that_ funny." The laughter grew louder, and a particularly undignified snort came from somewhere in the back row of desks.

"It's not!" Harry insisted as the students kept laughing. "It's just some dumb questions – meant to scare us, because we don't know it, right? And because it's the first day? The joke is over now." The students kept laughing, and now Harry was getting annoyed at their simplemindedness. "It's not _that_ funny, guys. I'm sure some people got nervous when the quiz was announced, but clearly the questions tell us you weren't serious about it because no one really cares how many times you won a smiling award or something like that and no one's going to _bother_ to remember, either."

By this time the laughter was so loud that Harry couldn't say anything else, so with a confused sort of scowl, wondering if they'd all been hit by a heavy Cheering Charm, he leaned back in his seat. Boetius was staring at the entire class with a look of horror and embarrassed awkwardness, but Harry still wasn't sure why.

 _:Why are they laughing so much?!:_ he demanded, looking down at Sadi. She was letting out small hisses of amusement as well. He was glad she was amused at whatever had happened, but he really would appreciate knowing what it was she was laughing at. He suspected he was the only one in the dark, so to speak, about what was so funny to everyone else.

 _:Harry, they're laughing because you just unintentionally embarrassed Boetius again.:_ Sadi explained. _:His quiz_ _ **was**_ _real, but you just called it stupid and worthless in front of everyone, in the process reiterating how no one cares about Boetius' supposed accomplishments. It's a blow to the pompous arse's ego, but it was said in such a nonchalant way that it makes it hilarious.:_

 _:Oh,:_ Harry said. _:I didn't mean to. I thought it really_ _ **was**_ _a joke.:_

Sadi's laughter sounded in a hiss again. _:And that's what makes it so funny!:_

…

Lucius stared at the bite mark on his neck in the mirror, the sight of it only fuelling his hate for that awful Potter boy. It was tinged green, as though it was infected, and he sneered in disgust that the boy might have given him some sort of animalistic disease. Bloody uncivilized lout. If only it had been the snake that had bitten him, and he could've justifiably killed it right there. But if he killed the Boy-Who-Lived – and right in front of Dumbledore – that was a one-way ticket to Azkaban. He would just have to go at this from another angle.

Narcissa walked into the bathroom behind him. "What are you doing in here? You've been in here for…" she cut herself off with a slight gasp. " _When_ did you get that snake bite?!"

"It's not a snake bite," Lucius said with annoyance. "It was that blasted _Potter_ boy, the filthy animal."

"That's definitely a snake bite," Narcissa insisted, checking with her wand to prove it to him. "There are traces of boomslang venom poisoning your bloodstream. Let me just go get some potions for that." And she hurried out, leaving her husband to stare speculatively into the mirror.

Boomslang venom…if he remembered correctly, that blasted snake Potter kept as a pet was a boomslang. But it couldn't have been the pet that had bitten him – he'd had his fingers around the thing's head to prevent it from leaping at him, and after Potter had bit him like a wild animal, he was positive that he hadn't seen the snake make an appearance after that. It had hidden somewhere, he supposed.

And Potter was the only one who had come close to him.

He gently prodded the bright red teeth marks on his neck, inspecting them closely. He suddenly noticed that the brat's canine teeth went further into his neck than the rest of the teeth, as though they were something like vampire fangs.

Fangs…

He suddenly straightened. Clearly, the Potter brat was hiding something, not telling of how he had lived in the forest for ten years. It was all just so secretive – besides the fact that his first language was Parseltongue.

 _Is he some sort of hybrid species?_ He wondered. _Something like a cross between a vampire and a snake? His are the only teeth that could have poisoned me._

This would bear thought, he decided. And as soon as he figured out just what was going on with the Boy-Who-Lived, he could use that against him and do away with him – for good.

…

It was around dinner time that Harry began to feel groggy and tired. As it was approaching sundown, he wasn't too surprised, but it hadn't ever come on so quickly before. He blinked his eyes repeatedly to keep himself awake, and ate dinner with Zuri at the Hufflepuff table. After dinner, they went to the Hufflepuff common room so that Harry could color and Zuri could do homework.

He hadn't noticed how quiet he was being, but Zuri did, asking him if he was alright.

"I'm just tired," he told her with a somewhat wan smile. "I'll be okay after I get to bed."

"Harry, you don't have to stay up just because I'm here," Zuri said immediately.

"No, no – you're doing your homework, and I've only been coloring for twenty minutes," Harry said quickly, not wanting her to get the impression that he was trying to get her to go. "After I'm done with my coloring I can go to sleep." Right as he said this, he let out an involuntary yawn, rendering his protests useless.

"Harry," Zuri said in that same stern voice she used when she was putting her foot down, as the human saying went. "Take your things, and go to your dorm, and go to sleep. You're exhausted. You're clearly not used to the rigors of school – it will take some time, and that's okay. But you need to let yourself sleep when you need it – even if the sun _is_ up. Alright?"

Harry sighed but nodded, conceding her point. And his bed _did_ sound particularly inviting, though not as good as the warm rock under it sounded. Unfortunately, he would have to settle for the human way of sleeping so as not to let in others in the dorm on his secret.

"Goodnight, Zuri," Harry hugged her, as was the human custom when one left a friend, though it was more pleasant than to be considered just a meaningless ritual. "I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow, okay?"

"Of course, Harry," Hermione nodded, pleased that Harry had obeyed with little to no fuss. It only went to show how tired he really was. "Sweet dreams."

…

Harry did not have "sweet dreams", as Zuri had told him to. He tossed and turned all through the night, having nightmares that he forgot as soon as he awoke. But even without the memories of the actual nightmares, he still felt fear and uneasiness when he was awake – the remnant of the awful dreams.

There was one nightmare that he remembered with vivid clarity, however. But this one was even worse than the other ones, and one he could never remember having before.

_"Mummy loves you, Harry!" the woman with red hair and a dazzling smile laughed as she bounced the giggling one-year-old in her arms._

_"Don't I get to get in on this?" the woman turned with the baby in her arms and grinned at her husband as he walked into the room, setting his wand down on the couch and reaching his arms for his son._

_"What do you say, Harry?" she cooed, giving him Eskimo kisses as she spoke. "You want your daddy to hold you now?"_

_"Da! Da!" The dark-haired boy gurgled joyfully, reaching excitedly for the man he knew to be his father, wiggling his limbs impatiently to get over to him._

_The bespectacled man's good-natured laugh abruptly cut off when a humming sort of buzz went through the house. They all fell silent for a brief instant before the man looked out the window and then turned to them with alarm on his face, no sign of the joy that had been there just seconds before._

_"Lily, take Harry and go!" he cried urgently. "It's him!"_

_"James - !" the woman's voice was fearful, her eyes teary. Harry fussed, reaching for his daddy, not knowing what was happening but feeling scared._

_"Go! Run!" James told her, pushing them toward the stairs and keeping away from Harry's futile grabs. "I'll hold him off!"_

_When she was about halfway up the stairs, the front door was blasted open. A moment later Harry saw a flash of the brightest green light he'd ever seen._

_"Mama," he whimpered, burrowing into his mother's embrace, feeling scared._

_"It's okay, Harry," she whispered, her voice wavering as she ran into the nursery and closed the door quickly behind her. "Mummy loves you. Daddy loves you." Her wand was waving at the door, trying to block it off so the intruder couldn't get inside. She then set him quickly in his crib and raised her wand again._

_"Expecto Patronum," she whispered, but only a wisp of white smoke came out. "Expecto Patronum!" she said more insistently, her voice cracking and the spell failing again. "Expecto Patronum!"_

_"I can't do it," she whispered in terror. "Oh, he's dead, I – happy thoughts. Harry. Happy thoughts."_

_Before she could try the spell again, the door burst open as though it was made of nothing more than a flimsy piece of paper._

_His mother whirled around to face the man he could not see, spreading her arms over the crib as though it would protect him._

_"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!" she begged desperately. Harry rose to his feet on unsteady legs and tried reaching through the bars for his mummy. He succeeded in grabbing the bottom of her cardigan, but she didn't even turn to look at him. It was like she hadn't noticed._

_"Stand aside you silly girl…" The man's voice sounded evil and cold. "Stand aside now."_

_It was like his mummy didn't hear him. "Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead – !"_

_"Mama!" Harry whimpered, tugging her cardigan. He wanted her arms around him again, but she was wholly focused on trying to save his life from the evil man._

_"Not Harry!" she begged so desperately he could almost_ _**feel** _ _the pain, even at only fifteen months old. "Please…have mercy…have mercy…"_

_The man was laughing now – it was shrill and cruelly amused._

_The woman – his mother – screamed, and then there was a flash of green light, just like the one that made Dada go away. The cardigan was suddenly torn from his grasp as she fell away – away from him and to the ground. He stared in stunned shock for a moment, expecting Mummy to get up any moment now –_

_But she didn't._

_The man was visible now – he had dark hair and red eyes – evil eyes that had Harry instantly crying in fear. What happened to Mummy and Dada? Why was the bad man still here?_

_"And_ _**you** _ _are the one prophesied to defeat me?" the man snorted disgustedly. "Pathetic." Then he raised his wand again, pointing it at Harry this time. "Avada Kedavra!"_

_Pain. Pain filled his whole head and he was screaming and he felt so much hate – he'd never felt hate before and it was new and he didn't like it and_ _ **get it**_ _ **out**_ _but it wasn't leaving it hurt so much and all he could do was fall into darkness._

Harry awoke with a gasp, sitting up straight before the thought to do so had consciously entered his mind. As his memory of the nightmare replayed itself in his head, he couldn't help bursting out in tears at the memory. It was a good thing his heavy curtains were mostly soundproof, or he would've woken up his dormmates – not that he had the presence of mind to care about that right then.

He'd never remembered before what had happened that night, and knowing what had happened from his guardians had been enough. But it had been in such detail – and he remembered and felt all of the feelings he'd had when it happened, and it just made it so much worse. He remembered _adoring_ his parents, something he hadn't really thought about since coming back to be human. He had cared about Sirius and Salim and before about Sueva, but he'd always felt that his parents just happened to have been the ones to have conceived him – he didn't care particularly one way or the other about who they'd been, aside from the general curiosity about what it _might_ have been like. But he'd never felt the pain of their loss, really.

Not until now.

 _What's happening to me?_ Harry despaired. _I've_ _ **never**_ _had nightmares before – why now, and when I'm away from Sirius and Salim?_

_I can call them._

As soon as the thought entered his head, he reached under his pillow and pulled out the mirror.

"Sirius," he choked out through his tears, pulling out his wand and lighting the end of it so that he could see his godfather when he appeared. He knew that Sirius wouldn't be upset about his having woken him – Sirius had said to call him if there was ever a problem, whatever time it was, and this was definitely a problem.

"Sirius!" he called again when the mirror stayed blank.

"Harry?" Sirius finally appeared in the mirror, looking groggy. Seeing as it was the middle of the night, Harry assumed he'd woken him up. But Sirius didn't mention it – didn't seem to care. "What's wrong?" He was instantly more alert when he noticed the bright eyes and the tear tracks on his young godson's face. "What happened, puppy?"

Harry's breathing picked up slightly. "I was – sleeping…" he choked out through sobs as the memory went through his mind again. "And I – had a – nightmare – and I – remembered – that – night…"

Sirius' expression instantly became sad. "Oh, Harry," he said in a heartbreaking tone. "It's alright – just breathe. You can tell me when you're ready. I'll stay here as long as you need me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not expect to end this chapter on such a sad note. But here we are. I'm bawling right now, no joke. Not that it would be a funny joke. But you know what I mean.  
> I made Lily try using the Patronus charm so she could send a message for help or something, but it wasn't working because she knows James just died so she's having a hard time bringing up a happy memory. Her saying Harry's name is her trying to remind herself that she still has joy in him and can use the spell because of that. She just never got to attempt it because, you know, Voldemort came in and killed her.  
> Now I'm sad. I need to go write a nice, happy fluff piece. I hope you guys enjoyed at least some of this – next chapter will be up soon. I have to go cry now.  
> Troi – curly-haired  
> Ulysses – wrathful  
> Thanks for reading!


	22. Sick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone enjoyed their Easter holidays! Now, on with the chapter!

After talking with Sirius for a good hour, Harry was finally able to fall into a dreamless sleep. But it was only three hours later when he was awakened by the sounds of the other Hufflepuffs getting ready in the dorm.

Sitting up groggily, he held a hand to his aching head, wishing dearly for a headache potion. He supposed the headache was because he was tired, but now that he saw the sun was up, he couldn't consider going back to sleep. He was surprised he'd slept in as long as he did.

_:Finally – you're up! The sun has been up for almost two hours now!:_

Harry glared over at Sadi, who was coiled up next to his pillow. _:Why didn't you wake me then, if you were so impatient?:_ he grumbled.

 _:Because anything short of injuring you and I don't know how,:_ Sadi sniffed. _:Now get up – breakfast has already started, and as you're a human you need to eat!:_

Harry sighed and pushed open his curtains, wincing in the bright light as he climbed out of bed.

"Harry!" Wayne said in surprise when he saw him. "We didn't know you were still here! You're usually gone long before any of us wakes up."

 _:Figured that all out on your own, did you?:_ Harry said sarcastically, not feeling particularly pleasant with his stomach rolling and the light stabbing at his headache. He hardly noticed that he was speaking in Parseltongue.

"Mate, put some clothes on!" Zacharias exclaimed.

Now that it was mentioned, Harry _was_ feeling a bit chilled. He shivered and wordlessly put on his outer cloak to stave off the cold.

"Don't tell me you're going to continue wearing _just_ the cloak all day," Wayne said with wide eyes. Harry shrugged, not caring what the other boy thought about it as he planned on doing just that. Once he started walking to the Great Hall he was sure to warm up, anyway.

"Well, you'll need some shoes – we have Potions this afternoon," Zacharias told him with a snort. "If not for Snape docking points for 'not wearing the entire uniform', if anyone's potion explodes, it could eat through your skin if you're barefoot."

"Snake?" Harry said confusedly, not catching the professor's name correctly and wondering if someone was actually _called_ "snake".

" _Snape_ ," Wayne emphasized, grabbing his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. "You've probably noticed him before – ugly git who looks like a greasy bat. He hates everyone except for the Slytherins."

"We have a bat teacher?" Harry was even more confused.

Both boys sighed and looked at each other, but didn't answer.

"Come on," Wayne said. "There's only twenty minutes left of breakfast before classes."

Harry, with Sadi now around his shoulders, trailed along behind the two, still confused but letting the thoughts drift away, not caring too much about figuring it out.

 _:You're very warm, Harry,:_ Sadi hissed, tightening her coils just slightly about his neck. _:Warmer than usual, anyway. It's nice.:_

 _:Probably because I was just under the warm blankets,:_ Harry said tiredly, not really caring. He personally thought he was cold, but he expected he would warm up soon after some movement.

Zuri was waiting for him outside the common room entrance, and she looked relieved when he appeared.

"Harry!" she exclaimed. "I was wondering what had happened to you, since you weren't waiting at the stairs like usual."

"I'm sorry," Harry apologized sincerely.

"Oh, it's fine," Zuri said with a wave, walking alongside them down the corridor. "I was just getting to wonder…"

"I accidentally slept too late," Harry explained, massaging his forehead with his fingers to try and get rid of the headache behind his eyes. "I didn't sleep a lot last night so I was really tired."

"Oh, that's perfectly normal, Harry – you can't be expected to wake up early _every_ morning." Harry decided not to mention how he had been doing just that every day of his life.

They made it to the Great Hall and sat down at the mostly empty Gryffindor table, but while Zuri piled her plate with fruit and eggs, Harry found suddenly that the thought of food made him feel awful. He stayed next to Zuri, leaning his head on his hand and closing his eyes against the light.

"Aren't you going to eat anything, Harry?" Zuri's voice asked him. He blinked open bleary eyes to look at her as she continued. "Lunch won't be for three more hours – you need your strength for classes."

"I'm just not very hungry, Zuri," he said, his voice coming out involuntarily softer than usual. He coughed a bit to clear his throat.

The girl stilled suddenly, before reaching over to him and putting her hand on his forehead. He blinked at her, confused at what she was doing, but then she simply pulled her hand back and gave him a little smirk.

"You're sick!" she proclaimed simply, taking a bite of her orange. "That's why you feel so awful, and that's why you didn't sleep well last night."

"I'm _not_ sick," Harry denied quickly, and had to cough again to clear his throat. "I'm _never_ sick."

"Well, you are now," Zuri told him unapologetically. "Just like I told you that you would. You spent too long without proper warmth to your body, and it left you susceptible to the allergens that will aggravate your sinuses, giving you this head cold, which caused the fever that is currently making you think that you're cold."

Harry didn't understand about half of what she said, but he knew that she was trying to convince him that he was sick – but he knew that she was wrong. He'd eaten his vegetables, after all – and hadn't _she_ been the one to tell him that if he ate vegetables then he wouldn't get sick? So he knew he was fine.

"I'm okay, Zuri," he reiterated, and took a sausage link from the plate to prove it. "See?" He took a bite of the sausage.

This was a mistake, however, because the normally delicious piece of meat tasted like…like…he didn't know exactly what, but it could be compared to feces. As soon as he took a bite, he felt his stomach rolling in protest, so he spit the meat back out onto his plate.

"Harry, you probably shouldn't eat anything except some plain crackers and ginger ale," Zuri advised. "You may have the flu, based on your reaction to your favorite food just now. And if you throw up with food in your stomach, you'll taste it again when it comes back up, except that it will be tainted with all the icky stuff coming out with it, and it could be _years_ before you want it again." She shuddered. "I _still_ can't eat teriyaki chicken."

Harry didn't know what the Floo had to do with being sick, and he didn't know what teriyaki chicken or throw up was, but he did know that she was trying to push the fact that he was ill. Except that he wasn't.

"It's an easy fix, too," Zuri went on. "If you run to the Hospital Wing before class, Madam Pomfrey can give you a potion or two and you'll be fine within the hour. And I'm sure Professor Flitwick won't mind if you're a bit late."

"I'll be fine," Harry declared firmly. No way was he _voluntarily_ going to the hospital wing. He remembered all too well what had happened to him last time he was there.* "Should we get to classes now? It's probably almost time."

Zuri sighed. "Alright, Harry," she said, popping the last of her orange into her mouth and standing up. "But just know that if you don't go to the Hospital Wing, it's going to get a whole lot worse before it gets any better."

…

Zuri was right, Harry had to admit begrudgingly – at least to himself. He stayed about the same all through half of Charms, until he suddenly and rapidly began to go downhill, in a manner of speaking. His head pounded constantly, regardless of whether or not there was light anymore, and his movements felt very stiff and sluggish, much like when he was hit with the Impediment Jinx. His eyelids felt puffy and sore, and his throat began to ache as well. Then he discovered that his nose was runny with snot, but wiping at it only seemed to make it feel raw, not to mention that it kept coming back. He also never warmed back up, feeling colder and colder until he was shivering and wishing he had put some socks on at least. Sadi, however, had told him that he was warmer, and while she appreciated the warmth, she knew that it wasn't normal and was clearly concerned for him.

Even Troi was showing concern for him, which was something that apparently Slytherins didn't do. _Showing_ emotions, that is – not lacking them.

"Was Madam Pomfrey not able to help?" Troi asked confusedly. "It seems just like a common cold or allergies."

"I don't need her help," Harry rasped. Troi stared at him disbelievingly, but said nothing else.

Harry vaguely noted that Saghir was gazing at him in concern, but he paid him no mind as he made his way to the Defense classroom.

By the end of the class, Boetius seemed to be of the impression that Harry was on death's door, but Harry just wanted to go to sleep, never mind that it was the middle of the day and the sun was high in the sky. He still had Potions after lunch, and then History of Magic, and then dinner, and then working in the common room with Zuri, and then talking with Sirius and Salim, and _then_ he could go to sleep.

Finally though, about ten minutes into lunch and after his third coughing fit, Zuri put her foot down, so to speak, and told him in no uncertain terms that he was to go get a potion from Madam Pomfrey to make him better again or she would drag him there herself.

Honestly, Harry wouldn't put it past the girl to try, and he didn't want her to hurt herself trying to do so, so he agreed and picked up his bag, telling her that she could stay and he would be fine.

 _:This isn't the way to the Hospital Wing,:_ Sadi observed about halfway to Harry's destination.

 _:No, it isn't,:_ Harry agreed. _:I have no intention of going near that place again – not if I can help it.:_

 _:Good,:_ Sadi was pleased. _:It's a scary place.:_

_:Yes – that it is.:_

Harry knocked on the barrel outside the Hufflepuff common room, and when he was allowed inside, he walked – stumbled, really – to his dorm. He was sure that if he just slept a little bit, he would be okay. He was just very tired – not sick, like Zuri suggested.

He tapped his wand on the rock under his bed, hissing _:activate:_ without a thought. He set Sadi down on the rock, and a moment later, slithered up beside her in snake form.

 _:Harry!:_ Sadi sounded alarmed. _:We're in the dorm! Any of them could come in here at any time!:_

 _:There's still the rest of lunch, and two more classes,:_ Harry said drowsily, unconcerned. _:And I'll warm up better in snake form on the heating rock than in human form under some blankets.:_

 _:Har-_ _ **ry**_ _!:_ Sadi was still distressed.

 _:If you're so bothered, then just wake me up if you hear anyone coming,:_ Harry said somewhat irritably, still feeling awful and just wanting to go to sleep. Sadi was just being paranoid, and if he was in his normal frame of mind, he might have listened to her. But he was just too tired to care.

He didn't hear her response to his suggestion – after saying his piece, he quickly dropped off into a dreamless sleep.

…

_:Harry! Wake up!:_

Harry ignored the voice, flicking his tail slightly in protest to its attempt to disturb him and sleeping on.

_:_ _**Harry** _ _! I hear them coming!:_

Still Harry's mind didn't process the urgency in his sister's voice; it was only when the door to the dorms opened and the other Hufflepuff boys' voices came through that Harry woke up, not feeling much better than he had before his nap.

But, he couldn't afford to be found out, so he quickly shifted to his human form and crawled out from under the bed before realizing that he could've just hidden on the other side of the rock under the bed until they left, and they'd have been none the wiser that he was even in the room.

All five of them looked at him in surprise when he came out from under the bed, but it was Anthony who incredulously voiced what they were all thinking:

"Why were you _under_ the bed?"

"I was sleeping," Harry said honestly, rubbing his eyes tiredly and coughing to clear his throat.

"O…kay…" Anthony said slowly, "But why were you sleeping _under_ the bed?"

Harry thought quickly for a somewhat plausible excuse, and then remembered a joke that Sirius had once made.

"It's hard," he explained, "It reminds me of the forest floor. I don't do it all the time, though." He added the last bit at their blank stares. "Just sometimes I miss home."

"Your guardians make you sleep on the _ground_?" Justin blurted.

Now Harry was confused. "No," he answered. "They gave me a bed. Sirius is going to redecorate my room in yellow and black, because it used to be in Gryffindor colors, because Sirius and Salim were in Gryffindor and they thought I might be, too. I like yellow better than red, though.**"

"But you said your home…?" Justin trailed off confusedly, waiting for Harry to fill in the gaps.

"The forest," Harry finished his unanswered question. "I _did_ live there for ten years." He suddenly let off a round of sneezes. When he was finished, he sniffed his nose and wiped it with the back of his hand.

"I'm gonna go back to sleep," he said blearily, climbing into his bed this time and pulling the covers up under his chin to try and conserve his warmth. Moments later, he knew no more.

…

Harry had another night of restlessness, but this time he didn't call Sirius as he didn't have the same nightmare as before – he was back to not remembering the nightmares after he woke up, and his head felt too heavy to even consider calling to Sirius for help – not that he expected he could do anything from a few hundred kilometers away.

He didn't remember making the conscious choice to sleep past sunrise, but when he finally awoke again, the sun was bright in the room and the other boys in the dorm were gone. He gazed through bleary eyes at the digital clock on his nightstand, his brain taking much too long to process that it was lunchtime. Groaning, he rolled back over and away from the sunlight, resolving to go back to sleep. He didn't even care that he should be up now – his throat was too sore, his head hurt too much, and his nose was too stuffed and yet runny for him to care. And he was still cold. He just wanted to sleep and forget about this awful feeling he had. He felt like he was dying.

Unfortunately, his wishes were not to be. Just as he was beginning to be pulled back under into the world of sleep, the door to the dorm banged open (or at least it _seemed_ to bang when it opened) and Zuri came marching in.

"Harry!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing still in bed? Anthony Otterburn said you've been in bed since before they came back after classes yesterday! What happened?"

Harry groaned and turned over to face her. _:Please don't yell – my head hurts enough,:_ he moaned, not even noticing he'd lapsed into Parseltongue.

But Hermione didn't need to understand him to know what was wrong with him – she could see it enough in the pale face, the sweaty hair sticking to his forehead, and the way he squinted in the sunlight. He was even wearing clothes – _voluntarily_.

"Harry!" She said sternly. "Did you not go to Madam Pomfrey yesterday like I told you to?"

"No," Harry moaned, more in protest to the mediwitch's name than in answer to the girl's question, even though she took it as one.

"Oh, for the love of…" She cut herself off and threw her hands in the air. "Where's your mirror? I need to call Sirius and Remus."

Rather than answering, Harry jammed his face into the pillow and reached under it with one hand, taking out the mirror and holding it out for her without lifting his face once.

"Sirius!" he heard Zuri's voice call. He wondered idly if Sloane might be a better name for her at the moment, with how she was acting.

"Harry! I was surprised when last night you didn't – Oh, hello Hermione." Sirius' voice filtered through the mirror, loud enough that Harry could almost believe he was right there in the room. His voice turned to concerned in an instant. "Is something wrong with Harry?"

" _Yes_ ," Zuri sighed exasperatedly. "Harry _finally_ got sick with an awful cold, but for some reason he refuses to go to see Madam Pomfrey, even though she could fix it in a heartbeat. He's been sick since night before last, I'd guess. He said he didn't sleep well, and everyone knows that happens when you have a fever."

"Is Harry there?" Salim's voice came through this time, also sounding concerned. Harry wondered how much they were together when he was gone, as they were always close by when the other had the mirror. He began getting dizzy from being unable to breathe, so he finally lifted his head from the pillow to take in a breath of needed air before dropping his face back down again. He felt so awful that he didn't want to even think about moving.

"Kind of," Zuri answered. "He's sort of out of it right now. I don't think he's even noticed that Sadi is next to him on the bed."

"Will you give us to him, please?" Salim requested.

A moment later, Harry was holding the mirror with one hand, still lying on his stomach in the bed but with his head turned to the side so that he could see his guardians' faces in the mirror.

"Harry?" Salim said gently as though to get his attention, even though he was already looking at them.

Harry sniffed as a tear slipped from his eye and wetted the pillow beneath his head. "Salim," he whimpered. "I don't feel good."

"I know, kiddo – I know," Salim said understandingly, sympathetically.

"Am I going to die?" he wondered, his tears falling faster now at the thought.

"No – of _course_ not!" This time it was Sirius who answered, and he sounded so sure that Harry couldn't help but believe him. "This is just a bad cold you've got – a Pepperup or two will fix it right up. Madam Pomfrey has probably dozens of them, so if you just go to the Hospital Wing, you'll be fine in a jiffy."

Harry's tears fell ever more rapidly, and he curled into a ball on his side as he began to breathe faster.

"No!" he choked out through his tears. "Vol – Volker – Volker will hurt…" He choked on his sobs as he continued to panic, unable to continue talking.

"Harry, calm down," Salim's voice sounded vaguely alarmed. "Who is Volker?"

"She – she'll hurt me," he gasped out. "She'll – she'll hold me down – and I won't be able to – to move – and then – then – then she'll – she'll make me drink the potion, and – and – she won't let me breathe until I swallow it – and – and – and she'll – m-make me – g-go to sleep – and – and then use – my – my f-fangs – and skin – and b-blood – and eyes – for her p-p-potions – and Sadi – won't be safe – and – and…"*

" _Harry_ ," Salim's voice was firm and yet gentle at the same time, and Harry realized when his haze of panic faded that Zuri was next to him, rubbing her hand over his back in a rather soothing pattern.

"I don't know everything that Madam Pomfrey did to you before we came," Sirius continued. "And I can't tell you how sorry I am that you had to go through a clearly terrible and terrifying experience. She'll be getting words from me about how she handled it, you can be sure of that. But what I _do_ know is how she cared for you after we got there, and made sure that you were healthy. She's not going to do anything to you that is going to hurt you – in fact, she will try her utmost to make sure that you feel better again. But she can't help you unless you go to her."

Harry sniffed, tears still spilling freely from his eyes. "I don't want to," he said in a small voice. "I'll get better after I sleep some more. I know she helped Zuri, but she didn't help me, and I don't want to see Volker again."

He was sure that Sirius or maybe Salim would continue to push the issue to try and convince him to go, but instead, Sirius just sighed while Salim spoke up.

"Hermione," he directed to the girl behind him, "Do you think that you could ask Madam Pomfrey if you could get some of the potions for Harry?"

"Madam Pomfrey doesn't let full potion vials out of the Hospital Wing, to prevent cases of dependency and addiction in students," Zuri said automatically, sounding just as concerned as his guardians did.

"I understand," Salim said. "Perhaps if you told her that Harry refuses to get out of bed, so you're going to take them to him? Or you could say that his guardians requested it, as it would be faster than our sending an owl with the necessary medicines."

"I'll just sneak in and grab it myself," Zuri decided. "Better to ask for forgiveness than permission, after all, and I don't know what she'd say if I asked her."***

"You've corrupted her," Salim accused Sirius, giving him a half-hearted glare. Sirius only chuckled.

"We'll see you in a bit, Hermione." He said. "We'll talk to Harry while you do that."

Zuri got up off the bed, and Harry heard the dorm room door close behind her while he looked at Sirius and Salim in the mirror.

"Harry," Sirius said carefully, "Can you tell us what, exactly, happened with Madam Pomfrey? Did she hurt you?"

Harry sniffed and nodded, then shook his head.

"Not - not really," he coughed, his voice wavering. "She scared me. And Cilla made Sadi unable to move."

"Dumbledore was there when she scared you?" Sirius clarified. Harry nodded and coughed again. "How did Madam Pomfrey scare you?"

Harry rubbed his eyes as tears continued to trickle out. "She wouldn't let me move. Then when Cilla held me down and made Sadi not able to move with his magic, she tried making me drink the potion to make me go to sleep. When I wouldn't let her, she put it in my mouth and covered my mouth and nose with her hand so I couldn't breathe until I swallowed it."* He shook his head, choking on a sob before continuing on. "I know – I know she didn't hurt me, but she really scared me and I don't want to see her again."

"We understand, Harry," Salim told him soothingly, seeing as Sirius appeared too angry to speak at the moment. "Neither of us would want to see her again, either. But Hermione will be bringing you a couple of potions, and after that I'm sure you'll be feeling _much_ better. Alright?"

Harry nodded, tears slowing at Salim's comforting words. "Okay," he answered. "Will you keep talking to me until Zuri comes back?"

"Of course, Harry," Sirius was the one to answer this time, forcing himself to be calm after remembering that Harry was the most important at the moment. "We'll stay as long as you need us."

They talked for about twenty more minutes about Harry and how his classes were going, and Harry even found himself comforted when Sirius and Salim bantered continually back and forth. It was familiar, it was – reassuring. Even feeling as awful as he did, he felt a bit better as he spoke with his guardians.

Zuri came back holding four potions vials in her hands and looking a bit guilty.

"We'll let you go now, Harry," Salim told him when they saw the girl. "I'm sure after your potions you'll be falling back to sleep rather quickly."

"Okay," Harry agreed. "I love you."

"We love you too, pup," Sirius said, a sentiment echoed by Salim. "We'll talk with you soon."

The mirror went blank, and Harry shoved it back under his pillow, looking up at Zuri as she sat on the edge of the bed beside him.

"Here's a stomach soother first," Zuri said, giving him a thin bottle. "In case you do indeed have the flu, it will keep the other potions down." Harry obediently swallowed the potion, wondering how something so nasty was supposed to make his stomach feel better. Giving the bottle back to Zuri, she gave him another bottle, saying, "Here's a fever reducer – you're still very warm and it only seems to be getting worse, so this will stop you from feeling worse with the other potions.

"Here's a Pepperup – that should get rid of the pain in your head and the stuffy nose and ears. It also makes smoke come out your ears, so don't be too worried about that." He could tell she was fighting a smile when he scrunched his face and cringed when the smoke started pouring out. It felt very warm – too warm, and he didn't appreciate it a bit.

"This last one," Zuri said, and now she seemed a bit nervous, "Is a sleeping influence…"

"No!" Harry cut her off with a scowl. " _No_ sleeping potions!"

"It's not like a Dreamless Sleep Potion," Zuri said quickly. "It just makes you a bit drowsy, but it doesn't force you to sleep and you can still wake up if you need to."

"I don't want it," Harry said, shaking his head and fighting more tears. What was it with him and crying today?

"Harry," Zuri said gently, scooting closer to him so that she could take his hand in hers. "It's not going to hurt you or take any control away from you. It will only help you – and you need some _peaceful_ sleep. Otherwise you'll just be hanging around in bed even more, and I know you don't like that."

She was right – he felt very antsy, just being in bed while the sun came through the window, but he felt too awful to get up. And he really _did_ want to get better quickly…

"Alright," Harry finally whispered. "I'll…I'll take it. But…please take Sadi with you while I'm asleep. I don't want…just in case…if I can't wake up on my own…"

"Of course, Harry," Zuri said, seeing him struggling for words. She handed him the bottle, and picked up Sadi while he swallowed from it.

 _:You'll be okay, Harry,:_ Sadi told him after she'd curled herself around Zuri's arm. _:I'll see you later, okay?:_

 _:Okay, Sadi,:_ Harry said, already feeling sleepy. _:I love you.:_

"Goodnight, Harry," Hermione said, but he had already fallen asleep. With a sigh and a soft, slightly sad smile, she left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *For the story detailing the scene he's thinking of, go to my page and read "Heavy With Sleep".  
> **Read "An Alternate Conversation" for his thoughts on the House colors  
> ***OOC from canon, but I don't really care. She's concerned for Harry, so I think she'll do anything for her only friend – at least how I shaped her.  
> Sloane – warrior  
> Volker – people's guard (a reference to her holding him down – guarding him, of sorts)  
> Thanks for reading!  
> P.S. Stick around for next chapter - we'll finally be seeing Snape!


	23. Siyamak

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, again! I'm taking finals tomorrow... Eek! Actually, I'm not too worried about it, but that means it's the end of the semester! Yay!  
> I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Harry woke up once later that night, feeling groggy but staying awake long enough to eat a ham sandwich that Zuri had brought him and seeing Sadi still around Zuri's arm. Zuri had told him that even after he felt better, he should stay in bed a few hours longer to let the potions cycle through his body, but he still felt too groggy and hardly considered her words. She also told him that she would make sure Sadi was safe until he was feeling better, which was something that did rouse him enough to feel grateful for. He fell asleep soon after, and didn't wake up until early Sunday morning.

Looking over at the clock he saw that it was only five in the morning – he could hear the snores of the rest of his dormmates. They didn't usually come down to breakfast until later, but seeing as there weren't any classes on Sundays, he suspected they would likely sleep in longer.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He had a faint headache, but the smoke had stopped billowing out of his ears and he felt much better than he had the day before. He divested himself of the robe that had dried sweat on it and didn't smell very pleasant, and was relieved not to feel the fabric against his skin anymore. Previously, he'd been so out of it that he didn't care that he was needlessly dressed, but now that he was feeling a bit better, he saw no need for it and was glad to be rid of it.

Sighing to himself, he knew that no one else would be up yet – and breakfast wouldn't appear for another two hours. So, there was really not much that he could do. Apparently he wasn't supposed to go outside when he was sick, so even that was out.

Finally he reached out from his bed hangings and looked at the books sitting on the bedside table. He really should practice his reading – and if he could do magic at the same time, well that was just a bonus.

He grabbed the book on top as well as his basilisk heartstring wand sitting beside it. (Speaking of which, he still needed to look up what a basilisk actually _was_ , but he just kept forgetting. He would have to go to the library, or ask Zuri – she'd probably know.) Pulling himself back into his bed, he closed the draperies mostly around the bed and opened the book titled _Spells, Charms, Jinxes, Hexes, and Curses: All You Need to Know_. He began examining the list of spells located at the front of the book before deciding flipping through it would be better.

_ Teeth-Growing Hex _

_Densaugeo (den-sah-OO-gi-oh)_

_The Teeth-Growing Hex, when aimed at one's face, causes the two front teeth of the recipient to grow at a grotesque, alarming rate. Historically…_

Blah, blah, blah… Harry turned a few pages, examining another spell with the wand movement drawing taking up an entire quarter of the page.

_ Tongue-Tying Curse _

_Mimble wimble_

_The Tongue-Tying Curse is used primarily as a spell to cause a person to be unable to speak about a particular subject. However, this can also work in the short term during dueling to make the opponent unable to speak, or at least have great difficulty with it. Created by Alfred…_

_ Bone-Breaking Curse _

_Ossis Effergo (OS-is ef-FEHR-go)_

_The Bone-Breaking Curse is used mainly by Aurors, and when cast on an opponent, breaks the closest bone to the location of the spell's target. Characterized by a dark blue light, it…_

_ Flagrante Curse _

_Flagrante (flah-GRAN-teh)_

_The Flagrante Curse is a curse that, when cast on an object, will cause the object to emit a searing heat upon contact. Known sufferers of accidentally coming upon the curse have been known to be permanently scarred, even beyond the skills of mediwitches and wizards…_

_This is all just bad curses and stuff,_ Harry thought with a crinkled nose, and flipped through several pages to find some better spells to practice.

_Instant Scalping Hex…Curse of the Bogies…Leg Locker Curse…Knee Reversal Hex…Stinging Hex…Horn Growth Hex…Entrail-Expelling Curse – **ughhh!**...Lycacomia Curse…hey, aren't books supposed to be in alphabetical order? This book doesn't even **have** any order…_

He finally found some more innocent spells nearer to the back, and began practicing some of those. He particularly liked the Ebublio Jinx, which he vowed to try on Sirius when he next saw him. He was sure his godfather would love it. And he was sure Sirius would laugh at being turned into a goose when he cast the Pullus Jinx on him.

However, as excited as Harry was by these prospects, he was still very bored, and after a half hour or so, he didn't really want to be practicing these prank spells for his guardians anymore. He'd much rather walk around – at least a little bit.

Sighing, he closed the book and put it back on the bedside table, on top of the rest of the stack. He grabbed a new robe – one that wasn't dirtied with dried sweat – and pulled it over himself, stowing his wand away in one of its pockets. He silently made his way out of the room, traipsing out to the common room and then to the rest of the school and its many corridors.

He didn't go in a particular direction, simply examining portraits and suits of armor and statues and tapestries. After a while, he had no idea where he was, though he didn't really care. He'd gone up some stairs and down some more, and Harry didn't recognize the place, but he thought he might be on the first floor. It was hard to tell though, as the sun was still low and he couldn't tell based on the amount of light there was. He might have even been on the fourth floor – who knew?

After a little while, he began to feel fatigued again, and decided to try and find his way back to the common room – or the Great Hall, so that he could eat. He was sure that the food must be out by now, though he still hadn't seen or heard anyone – student or otherwise.

It was just as he was turning down one corridor that he heard it.

Crying.

Not only crying, but screaming and pleading. The voice was desperate, scared, and Harry immediately felt his protective instincts surge up for one he didn't know.

He followed the faint voice quickly, the words becoming clearer as he got closer to the fearful one.

_:Please! Ouch! Just let me go! Please don't do this to me – what did I do?! Let me go! Please! Stop – that hurts!:_

He recognized it soon as Parseltongue, and he knew immediately that a snake was being harmed in some way. Though why that was going on at the school…

He began running to the voice, and finally discovered it emitting from a room with a dark door. Not bothering with useless human niceties like knocking, he burst through the door, and was immediately enraged by the sight before him.

A medium albino snake – a young king cobra, he thought – was being held forcefully over a jar of some sort. A piece he thought might be rubber was being pressed and held firmly against the underside of the serpent's fangs, and transparent grey-yellow liquid was dripping out from the fangs, into the jar. This was all being enforced by a man dressed in all black, with a large nose, pale skin, and limp black hair. The man had a grip around the serpent's head, keeping his jaw open to bite on the rubber while the snake pleaded for him to stop. Instantly he loathed the man, but more important at the moment was helping the serpent.

 ** _:WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!:_** Harry hissed loudly, angrier than he could ever remember being as he rushed forward with fury in his eyes. **_:GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF HIM!:_**

The man, likely startled at the furious Parseltongue as well as the boy who looked like he was about to head-butt him, loosened his grip on the serpent for just an instant. But it was just enough, for as he loosened his grip, Harry shoved him to the side, causing him to stumble away in his surprise, and the snake was freed.

 _:Arjun, come here!:_ Harry snapped out, reaching out an arm but keeping his gaze firmly locked on the man with black eyes staring at him in shock quickly morphing into disgust and anger. Without thinking, the young snake obeyed, quickly moving around the new human-snake's arm just as the older man stepped forward.

"Potter, what do you think you're – ?" The man started loathingly, but Harry wasn't intimidated and only came back more scathingly, cutting him off before he could continue.

"How could you do this to a serpent!" Harry shouted, unafraid of getting in the dour man's face. "How could you not hear his cries and know that you were hurting him?! How could you continue to take his venom as though _nothing was wrong_?! How could you have even thought to attempt it in the _first_ place?!"

"Potter, I do not have to explain myself to you!" The man shouted back, looking quite maniacal. "Give me my snake back before I am made to force you!"

"He is not your snake!" Harry retorted, clutching the little white serpent close to his chest in an unmistakably protective fashion. "Snakes belong to no one! We are a free species, and we don't have to conform to the human's wishes! I will not let you take Arjun for his venom, or his eyeballs or his skin or his fangs or _any_ other part of him! And I won't let you do it to _other_ snakes, either!" With that, he turned with the intention of leaving the room, new snake around his arm.

However, Severus Snape had not been a spy for nothing. He had caught everything the boy had said – including the use of "we" when talking about the snake species. He also had quick reflexes, and the boy's intentions had been broadcast quite clearly the entire time. So, when Harry turned to leave through the still open door, he raised his wand and a quick muttered word snapped the door closed and locked.

Harry turned to look at him darkly, dangerously, a look Snape never would have expected to see on James Potter's face. The fact that he stared at him through Lily's eyes just made it all the more shocking.

"Let us out," he said lowly, not shouting for the first time since entering the Potions professor's lab.

"That won't be happening just yet, Potter," Snape said deliberately, folding his arms in an intimidating manner – though the boy didn't appear to be too affected by it.

"Let us out!" the boy repeated more loudly.

Snape acted as though the child hadn't said anything. "You have my snake," he informed him, as though he didn't know. "And it is, indeed, _my_ snake. I bought it to use the venom in potions for my N.E.W.T.s classes tomorrow. I will need it back before I allow you to leave."

Harry was growing more and more frustrated and angry, and he knew he was trapped in the room, the man clearly having used magic to close and lock the door. He could feel his heart beginning to race with panic, but he was determined not to let it show. If there was one thing he'd learned living in the forest, it was to never show fear to a predator. And this man was indeed a predator.

"Snakes don't – !" _: – belong to anyone! How – ?!:_ " – _dare_ you take his venom?!" _:How would you like it – :_ " – If I made _you_ give up your venom – " _: – or any other body part you value?!:_ "You are taking away his _only_ defense – !" _: – and I won't allow it, so – :_ "STAY AWAY!

"And _let me out!_ " He finally finished with a shout. He'd been so distressed he'd hardly noticed how he kept switching between the two languages, but the man would be an idiot not to understand his sentiments.

"Potter," the dark-eyed man said, appearing to come to a decision, "When talking of snakes, you referred to yourself in the first person. Why?"

"I don't know what that means," Harry bit out, wondering what the awful man was going on about and just wanting to get away – to get himself and especially the snake to safety.

"First person point of view – when you use 'I' or 'we'. You referred to yourself as though you counted yourself among the snakes." The man studied him, scrutinizing him without blinking, making Harry feel very like the prey.

He couldn't help his facial expression this time, and he knew that fear would be reflected on a pale face. He hadn't noticed his slip-up amidst his rage, and now he couldn't think of any sort of plausible excuse.

"I was raised by snakes," he tried weakly, trying to sound confident and sure he was failing. "Sometimes I forget I'm not one."

"But," the dour man said reasonably, "After spending nine months in your _guardians'_ company"—he said this last couple of words with a disgusted sneer—"I would think even _they_ would be able to impress upon you that you are, indeed, a human child." Harry's eyes darted about, looking for an escape. His eyes fell on the fireplace, and the pot of Floo powder sitting on top. "You would be used to it after so long. So why do you act as though you are a snake when I can clearly see that you are not?"

"I don't…" Harry started nervously, taking a small step sideways.

"It would seem rather obvious, doesn't it?" the man said, staring at him with hard eyes. "Yet how could a _child_ become an Animagus? How – _Potter!_ "

As soon as the dark man said "Animagus", Harry couldn't help it anymore, and dashed for the fireplace – moving much faster than he was able to a few months before. He grabbed a handful of Floo powder and ducked into the fireplace in one movement, just barely dodging away from a beam of white light aimed for him. Hurriedly he threw the powder down and exclaimed, "Black Den!"*

As he felt himself being spun away in a sickening rush, he saw another beam of light shoot towards him before he was gone, missing it once again.

Heart pounding, he stumbled out into the familiar living room he'd spent so much time in. It was quiet – his guardians would still be in bed this early in the morning.

 _:Where are we, Sal?:_ the cobra asked, finally speaking for the first time since being freed.

 _:Home,:_ Harry answered quickly, before running to the stairs to find Sirius or Salim.

"Harry!" Sirius had come out of his room holding his wand aloft, but he dropped it when he saw Harry rushing down the hallway.

"Sirius!" he choked out, desperately throwing his arms around the man's waist in a tight hug. "It was an accident! I heard Arjun crying for help and then I saw him trying to take his venom and I just got so _angry_ and I got him away but I accidentally said 'we' so he knows I'm a snake but I didn't mean to and he's just _awful_ and tried to stop me like Cilla did but I used the Floo to get away but he might tell people and you said not to let anyone else find out…"

"Harry – Harry!" Sirius said quickly, stopping his babbling while returning the hug with a comforting one of his own. "Slow down, kiddo. I didn't catch half of what you said. Breathe – calm your heart…" He pulled back and nodded when Harry obeyed, beginning to calm down at Sirius' instructions. He distantly noted that Salim had appeared from his own room, and was now standing behind Sirius. "Now, what happened?"

"I heard Arjun crying for help," Harry started readily, before Sirius cut him off.

"Who is Arjun?"

Harry held up his wrist, where the albino cobra was curled. The serpent shrank back when Sirius turned his eyes to look down at him, until Harry hissed quiet reassurances that his godfather was safe.

"I found him being held down," he choked slightly on tears, forcing himself to continue on, "That _awful_ man was holding his jaw open, so that he would bite on something that forced his venom to come out." He scrubbed his eye with his hand to get rid of the tears beginning to trickle out.

"He didn't _care_ ," his breath hitched on a sob. "He didn't care that it was hurting Arjun, or that Arjun was scared, and I…" he shook his head and looked up at Sirius. "I shoved him away and Arjun moved around my arm to get away and be safe again. But then I was so – _angry_ – and I started yelling at him, and I accidentally included myself when I was talking about snakes, and so he figured out that I can change. I didn't mean to!" he said this desperately, wishing for his godfather to understand. "And he had the door locked, so I couldn't get away that way, so I took the Floo here." He rubbed his eyes again. "I just wanted Arjun to be safe," he sobbed.

"Hey," Sirius said tenderly, pulling him into a comforting hug. Harry grasped the back of Sirius' shirt in his fists, wishing to keep him close. "Don't worry your head over it. What's done is done, and it was an accident. You'll be perfectly alright." Harry nodded silently against Sirius' stomach, unwilling to pull away just yet and relinquish the feeling of safety.

"Harry," Salim spoke up after a moment, "This man – do you know who it was?"

Harry shook his head and looked up at Salim. "No," he said, "He had black hair."

"He have a beak for a nose?" Sirius suggested, a mocking sort of look of disgust on his face.

"No," Harry said confusedly, finally pulling out of the hug. "I've never seen _any_ human with a beak for a nose. Are they very common?"

Salim snorted. "He means a large nose," he clarified helpfully.

"I think so," Harry answered, thinking to try and remember. "I don't know. I didn't look at him a lot – I was too angry. He had black eyes, though."

"Sounds like Snivellus," Sirius told Salim flatly.

"I'll go speak with him," Salim said, walking past them to go down the stairs.

"Moony!" Sirius sounded betrayed. "We don't owe that git anything!"

"That may or may not be true," Salim said, not looking back and continuing his descent, "But I won't let him punish a boy for the sins of his father and his very foolish friends."

Harry didn't know what that last statement meant, but Sirius did, if his expression was any indication.

A moment later, the Floo in the living room went off, and Sirius looked back at Harry.

"Well, it's only six-thirty, but you're probably hungry by now," he said, beginning to walk down the stairs. "You _are_ feeling better after the potions, aren't you?"

Harry had almost forgotten that he'd been so sick just the day before. "Yes," he said, "My stomach is still a little gross-feeling, but I think I'm okay now."

"Good to hear!" Sirius beamed. "How long have you been awake?"

"The numbers said five-zero-six when I looked," Harry explained, not knowing how to add the time between five o' clock and six-thirty.

"An hour and a half? You're probably starving – and we should get something for – Arjun, was it?"

"Can I have sausages?" Harry said hopefully, following his godfather into the kitchen.

Sirius' nose crinkled in distaste. "How aren't you _tired_ of those by now?" he said expressively. "I haven't eaten even _half_ of the amount you've likely eaten by now, and I don't think I could choke down a single one more."

Harry shrugged. "It's yummy. So, can I?"

Sirius sighed. "'Fraid not, kiddo," he said apologetically. "We weren't expecting a surprise visit today, and since Moony and I don't eat it anymore, we didn't bother keeping any in the cold cupboard."

Harry was disappointed, but he understood. "Do you have ham? Or bacon?"

Sirius chuckled. "Yes, we've got both of those. Which would Arjun prefer?"

 _:A mouse or a small bird,:_ Arjun piped up, hearing his name. _:If it's not too much trouble.:_

 _:Of course not,:_ Harry assured him, and waved his basilisk hide wand, hissing, _:Accio single mouse.:_ A moment later, a live mouse fell into his hand, and he set it and Arjun down on the table so that the snake could catch and kill it himself.

"Wash your hands," Sirius ordered as soon as he let the mouse go. "Honestly, I don't know how there can still be so many mice nearby after you and Sadi had at them."

Harry shrugged and went to the sink to wash his hands while Sirius went to the cold cupboard to get out the pack of bacon. "We didn't eat them every day," he said. "And since you and Salim keep saying so much stuff I do is 'unsanitary', I only ate them when you guys weren't looking so you wouldn't 'feel nauseous at my dietary habits'."

Sirius shook his head and crinkled his nose. "No, Moony and I have seen you eat some rodent or lizard more often than I care to think about. You're not as secretive as you think." He chuckled and threw several bacon strips on the griddle. "Now, are you going to eat bacon the _real_ way this time, or do you prefer the half-cooked, underdone version you always want?"

…

The Floo in Severus Snape's private lab was always an outgoing Floo – kept on Dumbledore's watch so that if the Dark Lord ever returned, he could leave immediately and resume his spying duties. Severus had never expected to have to ward it against anyone besides himself from leaving through it, as no one would ever dare to enter his personal, _private_ labs. That it was Harry Potter to come bursting in and start screeching about snakes and how awful he was was an idea that would have never even crossed his mind, as horrible as he expected the little monster to be.

But here he was, standing in his lab, staring at the fireplace through which the brat had just exited, along with the albino king cobra he'd paid good galleons for. So much had happened in the last five minutes that, even with his swift-thinking mind, he was too stunned to think of sitting down.

Potter was a Parselmouth. He'd known that ever since the brat had been brought to the Hospital Wing by the blasted Weasley twins the previous November end. He'd been shocked of course, but he'd known even with this that the Golden Boy would never go to Slytherin. He was too much like his dratted father, strutting about the castle like he owned it, and even having the audacity to miss his first Potions class with the nasty Slytherin Head of House. A raging head cold? Pah! Likely an excuse to get out of a class with the evil Slytherin. He was just fine this morning when he started screaming in his face!

But what he hadn't expected was that the little horror would think himself a snake – and with such conviction that it had to be true.

He finally sat down in his chair, steepling his fingers under his chin as he thought. Of course the brat couldn't be an Animagus – he was much too young. Even perfect, _Saint_ Potter hadn't become an Animagus until the fifth year, if he understood correctly. This boy had just entered his first year – or technically, second, if it was to be believed that the mutt and the wolf had actually _taught_ something to the little monster in the past several months. (Oh, how he would glorify in proving that false – show that Potter Junior was just as ignorant and stupid as Potter Senior!)

But if he wasn't an Animagus, then what other explanation _was_ there? The brat had been too anxious when he had pointed out his slip-up in vocabulary. There would be no reason to be nervous if it was something as simple as he forgetting he was indeed human after only _believing_ himself a snake during his life in the forest.

It was as he was contemplating this that he heard a knock on his door, and he heaved himself up to answer it and scare off the dunderhead who had dared to interrupt him this early on a Sunday morning.

However, when he opened the door, he was somehow unsurprised to see someone infinitely worse.

" _Wolf_ ," he sneered disgustedly. "To what do I owe this occasion?"

"Harry's told me you had a bit of a disagreement," the creature said blandly. "I'm sure you have some questions."

Severus weighed his options. He could do what he wanted and slam the door in the wolf's face, and go back to thinking everything over himself without the company of a man he despised. Or, he could let the beast in and hopefully get some answers to the questions stewing in his head.

After a moment of internal debate, he finally, reluctantly, opened the door wider and walked back to his chair, expecting the scarred man to follow behind him.

The door clicked closed behind him, and Lupin muttered a silencing and privacy spell. Severus watched him unblinkingly while the man finished and then sat down on the chair across from him without being invited.

"Harry was quite panicked when he came through the Floo," the wolf finally said. Severus folded his arms and raised a single eyebrow, saying nothing. It was a tactic he used on recalcitrant students to get them to talk. He was pleased to see it worked even on adults (and he used that term _lightly_ ) when Lupin began speaking once again.

"You are aware, of course, that he was raised by snakes. For the longest time, he thought he _was_ a snake, albeit with a different appearance than the ones he grew up around."

"Don't treat me like a fool, wolf," Severus interrupted with a sneer. "I know as well as you do that he didn't have just a simple fault in his memory."

"I wasn't going to suggest it," he said, which Severus was almost certain was an outright lie. "I was simply going to point out that because of his environment growing up and how he was taught, he has a different view on how the world works. He doesn't understand some things about the ways people work, but make no mistake that he is _very_ intelligent in other aspects.

"When he first came back to us and started learning of this new world, he was very wary around everyone. He has grown up in the knowledge that humans are the ones who only hurt his family – the snakes. We have made lots of headway in making him realize that not all humans wish him or his sister harm – as well as the fact that he _is_ still a child, and adults and especially teachers are to be respected."

"What is your point?" Severus demanded, wishing the beast would stop skirting around the subject and get to the point.

"My point is that when he heard the white snake crying for help, he immediately went into protective mode – the instincts he learned as a child of the forest. And when he saw you – an adult, and a man he knew very well must be a teacher – harming the snake he would see as family, you were no longer one expected to be respected. You were indeed one of those humans he'd heard so much about, who would harm snakes for their body parts. So, he saw you as any predator he'd encountered before, and went on the defensive to attack."

"Don't try and excuse his actions," Severus glowered. "He stole my snake that I use for the venom in the N.E.W.T. potions!"

"That's not how Harry views it," the wolf informed him, as though the brat's opinion mattered. "And he will do everything in his power to make sure the ones he sees as family are safe."

"You are still dancing around the topic," Severus bit out. "Why did the brat refer to himself as though he was counted among the snakes?"

"You tell me," Lupin said calmly, though there was a hint of fire in his voice. "You seem to have it all figured out."

Severus glared at the man, expecting him to crack again and be the one to talk first, but the man only stared at him, waiting.

Oh, how he hated tipping his hand, and the fact that it was to the wolf just made it that much worse. They both knew he'd figured it out, but Severus didn't want to say anything, on the slightest chance that he might be wrong in his assumptions.

But, he wouldn't get a sure answer any other way, so he finally responded, "He's a snake Animagus."

The wolf, damn him, didn't say anything to confirm or deny it, but Severus saw the confirmation on his face.

"And how, exactly, did _that_ happen?" Severus questioned after several long moments of silence. "He is barely twelve, and he had the very _instincts_ of a snake. How long ago was it that he was able to change?"

The scarred man didn't answer any of his questions directly, but his eyes seemed to glow for a moment in a look reminiscent of the wolf side of him. He fought the urge to shift uneasily in his chair.

"Those questions are not mine to answer," Lupin said. "But let me tell you something. I know you would love nothing more than to blurt out to the world what I am. I understand you hate me. But you will not, under any circumstances, use Harry's abilities against him, whether it's hateful comments about it, or holding it over his head as blackmail."

"And suppose I don't care what you say?" Severus scorned, wholly unimpressed.

"He is not just James' son – he is Lily's as well," the wolf said bluntly, and Severus almost lost his breath at the abrupt mention of the redheaded woman he so loved. "There is a reason he was Sorted into Hufflepuff and not any other House – he is loyal, and he loves fiercely once he decides to give his trust. I am almost positive that, were you to honestly _try_ at it, Harry could give that love and trust to you as well.

" _However_ ,"—here the wolf's eyes glowed again, becoming like steel chips on his face with his hard stare—"If you should decide to only see James, and decide to hate him for that, you will never know of his fiercely passionate love and loyalty to those he deems special. And if you should decide to ever reveal his abilities to anyone – even Dumbledore – you will answer directly to me. And I will _not_ show mercy."

"Is that a threat?" Severus sneered, trying not to show how the straightforward words affected him.

He was certain that at the word "threat", Lupin would back off, as he knew how much the man hated to be a monster and the word would only remind him of that. But he was surprised when Lupin held his gaze without flinching.

"It is," he affirmed. "Harry has given me his trust, something I hold very dear. I will do all I can to keep it, and that means I will protect him and his secrets with all that I have. Do remember that." As he finished his last statement, he rose to his feet. "I'll just show myself out."

As Lupin lifted the wards and then left the lab, Severus stared off into space, turning the words over in his head. He thought on it long after the man had left. He certainly never would've expected that from the spineless man, but here he was.

Finally, he waved his wand, summoning a glass and a bottle of Firewhiskey. Despite the fact that it wasn't even seven in the morning, he could really use a stiff drink right about now. He had a lot to think on that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Honestly I don't really like the name of their place – it was more spur-of-the-moment, but it only has Sirius' name in it, while I said in Chapter 4 that he and Remus shared the place. So if anyone has any better name suggestions, let me know, and I'll probably change it. Thanks in advance!  
> Arjun – white, milk colored  
> Sal – savior  
> Thanks for reading, and if you love it, feel free to let me know! :)


	24. Author's note

Hi guys! I've been having issues with AO3 lately, so I truly apologize for the lack of updates here. For some reason the site is not accepting my chapters - it keeps turning it into gibberish. I'll try and figure it out, but until then, FF.net is working just fine, and I update there consistently, so if you want to see the next chapter, I direct you there. So sorry for the trouble - I'll update here as soon as I figure out what's going on!  
P.S. Same username on FF, if you're trying to look for it.  
Thank you!


	25. Aggression

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, all of my patient people! I'm sorry for the holdup with these chapters, but we just got a new internet router in our house that finally lets AO3 through! So there shouldn't be any more hiccups. ;)

Harry returned back to the castle later that morning. He had been able to free Arjun into the forest behind the Marauder’s Den, and was glad to see the snake slither off to find a place to lie in the sun. He didn’t know what it was that Salim had told the awful man – Siyamak, he decided – but he figured it must have worked, as Salim looked calm enough when he returned to eat breakfast with them. He wouldn’t tell them what he’d said, but Harry suspected he would tell Sirius after he’d left.

He spent the rest of Sunday with Zuri, Sadi, and once with Xylon for a short while before the other boy left to go with the rest of the Gryffindor second year boys. He saw Troi once, but the boy was with the other Slytherins and didn’t respond to his wave of greeting.

When Zuri learned of his confrontation with Siyamak, she got a little crease between her eyebrows of distress.

“Oh, Harry,” she fretted, “I don’t think Professor Snape is going to let this go. He holds grudges like he’s in a contest for it!”

“I don’t care,” Harry said firmly. “I got Arjun to safety, and that’s what’s important. He can hate me all he likes – it’s nothing I haven’t faced before.”

“But if he needs those parts for potions,” she started, but he cut her off furiously.

“He _doesn’t_!” he said angrily. “He will have to find something else that doesn’t hurt snakes!”

“Yes, Harry, I know how you feel about it,” Zuri sighed, “But not everyone feels the same way. And I don’t think he’s going to find something different to use just because you’re upset. He’ll probably just keep it more of a secret so that you don’t hear it or find out about it – he’s not just going to stop; he’s a Potions Master.”

Harry stilled. “He will try and steal another serpent?” he repeated darkly.

Zuri nodded. “Most likely,” she said unhappily. “He still needs the venom, after all.”

Harry was quiet and still for several moments, getting his emotions under control. Finally he bit out, “I would like to see him _try_.” And then he was off down the hall, Zuri hurrying after him.

…

On Monday morning, he was roaming the halls again, waiting for Zuri to awake and come down for breakfast. He didn’t expect to encounter anyone, as he was usually alone on these early morning jaunts, which was why he was surprised when he came upon the first year he’d sat with on the boat ride up to the castle.

“Hello, Harry Potter,” she said in an airy voice as she moved in a way reminiscent of a rolling fog when she came closer. “I’m doing splendid – thank you for asking.”

Harry was confused. “I didn’t say _anything_ ,” he informed her, as though she didn’t know.

“Oh, but you were going to,” the girl reassured him. He wondered how she had known that. Was she one of those Lego men that Sirius and Salim had told him about when he started learning Occlumency? The ones who knew what you were thinking?

“Oh, nothing like that,” Xanthia said with a little laugh, even though he hadn’t yet responded. “Though I do have my ways.”

Harry blinked, feeling very perplexed, and looked away from the soulful girl. Then he looked down, and abruptly noticed that she was barefoot.

“You’re not wearing shoes!” he blurted. “I thought all humans wore shoes! Do you hate them, too?”

“Oh, at times,” she said with an agreeable nod. “Though usually I _do_ wear them – simply out of habit, of course. Though in the winter months I’m not as amenable to walking about shoeless.”

Harry nodded in agreement. “I got sick because I wasn’t wearing shoes when I was outside,” he told her matter-of-factly. “Sirius and Salim said I need to wear shoes all the time now.” He looked down at the sneakers on his feet. “But I think just socks would be okay to keep me warm.”

“Hm,” the airy girl hummed in agreement. “Unfortunately, I have lost those, too. And I do have some nice ones with little bottles of Butterbeer knit into them.”

“You lost them?” Harry repeated confusedly. “But don’t you just put them in the closet or under your bed when you’re done wearing them?” He’d thought that that was another human normalcy, so it had been one of the things he’d been sure to do when he took them off.

Xanthia hummed again. “Yes, but they have disappeared.” She leaned forward conspiratorially and whispered, “I suspect the Nargles.”

“Well…” Harry, struck with an idea, suddenly plopped down to sit on the ground, and pulled off his shoes. “Here,” he told her, holding one out for her. When she took it with a vague look of confusion, he pulled off the one on his other foot.

“I don’t really need them right now,” he explained, giving her the other one as he rose back to his feet. “You can wear them until the Nargles”—which he had no _idea_ what were—“give yours back. I have another pair of shoes in my dorm, and I bet just my socks will be okay for now.”

The blonde girl looked surprised, and the flighty expression seemed to diminish slightly as she gazed up at him.

“Thank you, Harry,” she said more softly than normal. Then she looked down, bending over a bit to pull on the sneakers over her feet.

“They are very comfortable,” she said, looking back up at him, and the same vague expression was there as before. “Although I don’t recognize the style. That is especially odd, because Daddy likes to show me all kinds of shoes he finds.”

“They’re Muggle slip-ons,” Harry explained. “I haven’t learned to tie my laces, so Salim got me those ones so it would be easier.”

“I like them,” she said. “And they are only a little bit big.”

“Well, good,” Harry said with a smile. “Would you like to walk with me while I wait for Zuri?”

“It would be my pleasure,” Xanthia said contentedly, and without invitation, took hold of his elbow like he was a lord and she the lady, and they were going to a fancy gala. After a blink, he supposed this must be normal for humans, even though he’d never seen anything like it, and began walking down the corridor, chatting with her all the way.

…

Harry knew he had Potions first thing Tuesday morning, but for some reason, Zuri seemed to be dreading it more than he was. Which was odd, because she wasn’t even in the same class as him. She didn’t even have Potions until the last class that day.

“It’s not _me_ I’m worried about – it’s _you_!” she said in distress when he voiced his thoughts to her. “Professor Snape is going to _hate_ you now, and he’s not going to make any attempt at hiding it!”

“I’ve been hated before,” Harry told her with a shrug. “Salim said that he wouldn’t hurt me – he knows, because he talked to him after I saved Arjun.”

“Harry,” Zuri said with forced patience. “If I told you that a teacher who is known for bullying students was bound to hate me, what would you say?”

“I would say that’s ridiculous,” Harry declared without hesitation, wondering why she was asking such an inane question. “Who _could_ hate you?”

Zuri flushed, but said, “But what if I _knew_ it? What if a teacher _was_ going to hate me? And what if that teacher was well-known among previous students to do nothing to hide that hate and act like a common bully? How would you feel?”

“Angry!” Harry exclaimed. “I would go and yell at them until they were nice to you!”

“Alright, not _quite_ what I was looking for, but I see you understand,” Zuri said. “So with you feeling that way about me, you can understand now a _bit_ of what I feel about the thought of you seeing Professor Snape again.”

Harry thought about that for a minute, and then sighed. “I suppose you’re right,” he conceded. “I told Sadi to go hunting, though, just in case. I don’t want him to be able to hurt her when I’m in the class. I think she misses the forest sometimes, anyway – so it will be good for her.”

“We should get on to class,” Zuri said as the bell rang. She rose to her feet, brushing the crumbs off her lap. “And you really should try and get to the Potions classroom on time. Double Potions won’t be easy if you make a bad first impression your first day.”

Harry hummed, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and left the Great Hall, parting ways with Zuri in the Entrance Hall to make his way to the dungeons for Potions.

The professor pretty much ignored him for the first half of the lesson. They were doing review of the previous year, and the first half was taking notes of the most important potions from the year before. Harry didn’t write anything, only paid close attention, memorizing what needed to be done. If he tried taking legible notes, he wouldn’t get enough of the information – his writing was still untidy and hardly fit to quickly scribble down what was being said.

The second half of the class, the dour professor instructed them all to put their notes away and take out their textbooks – they would be doing the practical now, making a potion with their partners.

He was paired with a Hufflepuff girl in his year that he’d yet to meet yet, though she did look familiar. She introduced herself as Yatsuji, which he was curious about. What or who had she won victory over to earn her such a name?

Before he could ask, Siyamak told them to turn to page 2, which was in the review section of the book, and complete the potion there. Harry found it to be the Cure for Boils. He couldn’t remember ever doing that one at home in his lessons with Sirius, but he _did_ remember when Zuri had first come to the Hospital Wing with boils all over her face, and Volker had given her a potion that made them go away. He supposed that this must be the same potion.

Beside him, Yatsuji snorted.

“We did this potion our very first Potions class last year,” she explained in a low voice. “What does he think, that we need an entire _year_ to get this one down?” She shook her head in bafflement. “I’ll get the ingredients from the supply cupboard – you pull out the scale and the rest of the supplies.”

Harry nodded and looked down at his book as Yatsuji took her own textbook to the closet where half of the students were. He skipped over the section that said “ingredients” (after several moments of trying to sound it out) and went to the list headed with “supplies needed”.

“Alright,” Yatsuji said a few minutes later, after she’d deposited the ingredients on the work table next to the supplies that Harry had laid out. “Let’s see if we can remember how to make this properly – last year mine blew up when I put the porcupine quills in at the wrong time.”

But Harry was no longer listening to her – his eyes had fastened themselves on the ingredients laid out. Or rather, they were fastened on a single ingredient as his heart began to race.

“Yo – Potter,” the Japanese girl said, waving her hand in front of his face. “You alright? You’re spacing out on me, here.”

“What are those,” Harry said in a low voice, pointing a single finger at the white slivers next to the horned slugs. He knew, but he was hoping he was wrong.

Yatsuji’s gaze followed the line of his finger, and looked at the ingredients. “The snake fangs? We’re supposed to crush them to a powder – I remember that much.”

Snake fangs.

Fury filled his heart, and he turned a black gaze to the front of the room, where Siyamak was observing him. It only made Harry angrier, somehow knowing with certainty that the awful man was only having them make this potion because of him. Yatsuji had said they had made this last year – there was no reason to make it again, except for the fact that now he was here. What had Salim _said_ to the man?!

“I will not make this,” he declared angrily, clenching his hands into fists by his side.

“Of course you will, _Potter_ ,” the man sneered, still staring at him with his dark-eyed gaze. “It is in the lesson plans, and just because you happen to be a _celebrity_ does not mean you are getting any special treatment from _me_.”

“No!” Harry argued, ignoring Yatsuji’s whispered plea to just sit down, that he would only make it worse. “I will not make this, and no one else should, either! How _dare_ you require a potion with snake fangs in it?! It is inhumane!”

“The snakes are _dead_ ,” Siyamak said ruthlessly. “There is nothing for you to do but make the potion as you are told, or you will be in detention for a month!”

“The snakes wouldn’t be dead if you didn’t think you needed their fangs for a _useless_ potion!” Harry shouted at him, ignoring the threat and growing angrier, if possible.

“Be grateful you are not harvesting the fangs yourself, _Potter_ ,” the awful man sneered. “But push me any farther and that’s exactly what you’ll be doing in detention tonight.”

Harry’s face completely blanked, paling dramatically, he was so enraged. Even the whispering of the students ceased as they felt the change in the air, the magic acting on such fury it was palpable. Some of the closest students could’ve sworn the Boy-Who-Lived’s eyes became shrouded in yellow-brown, pupils growing upwards and slitting, becoming exactly as a snake’s – for just an instant. Everyone seemed to hold their breath, waiting for the storm to descend on them all.

But it never happened. After several tense moments of the stare-off between teacher and student, Harry was suddenly moving, throwing the door open with a bang and storming out. It was a testament to how even Snape felt the magical power that he didn’t immediately call him back.

“Well?” the professor barked after another tense moment of silence. The students jumped. “Get back to work! Patil – work with Yamazaki!”

Padma reluctantly separated from Sue and Megan, and in moments, the Potions classroom was just as it had been minutes prior.

Meanwhile, Harry had made his way from the Potions classroom at a rapid pace, not sure where he was going but needing to get away before he did something to the awful professor he suspected his guardians wouldn’t approve of.

How _dare_ Siyamak try and force him to make that potion with snake fangs?! He would sooner use his _own_ teeth than use the fangs of the snakes he did not know but knew were dead. It would be disrespectful to use their fangs – and crushing them to powder, as the other girl had said, was just a new low.

He wondered what Zuri would say when she found out he’d skipped most of the second half of class. He knew she believed classes were very important, but he had a very good reason. He hoped she would understand.

He was brought out of his thoughts several minutes later when he saw a flash of red-orange ahead of him, just past the flight of stairs, that he recognized very well. Carefully, he crept forward, seeing one of the redheaded twins acting very suspiciously. Firstly, it was suspicious that there was only one of them, as he’d heard through other students that they were hardly ever seen apart. Secondly, the older boy was looking all around, as though making sure that no one was around to see him. In his experience, if someone didn’t want to be seen, it meant they were being hunted for food, or they had something to hide. And he knew that no one would be hunting humans for a meal – let alone in the school.

After glancing up the flight of stairs, the boy then turned and went behind the stairs, into the shadows. Only Harry’s superior hearing allowed him to catch the words, “Come on – coast is clear, but it won’t stay that way for long.”

A moment later, Harry watched, now curious, as the twins – both of them, now – appeared from the shadows, someone shorter than them walking between them with her head ducked low. They hustled to the stairs, walking up quickly with the girl held on each of her arms by the twins.

But it was when he saw the back of the middle person that he suddenly recognized her – he would know that bushy hair anywhere.

And when he heard her sniff – obviously through tears – he was immediately enraged – even more so than when he had discovered the snake fangs as part of the potions ingredients. He had a sudden flashback to when he’d first been taken to Hogwarts – it had been these same twins. And if these twins were bullying Zuri and forcing her to come along, just as they’d made him to come along (although she was conscious for it)…well, he just wouldn’t stand for it. He’d be _damned_ if he let any harm befall the girl he so treasured. He would _not_ let her have reason to cry!

The three were to the top of the stairs by the time Harry caught up to them. He’d approached practically silently, and it was only when he was almost upon them that one of the twins noticed him. By then it was too late, because without even bothering to change into snake form, he leapt forward and fastened his jaw around the closest bit of flesh he could get to.

The redhead cried out in pain and shook Harry’s grip off his arm. Harry pulled away, but it had the desired effect. Both boys had instinctively loosened their grips on Zuri, and without hardly glancing at her, he pulled her away from the two of them, standing in front of her defensively.

“You stay _away_ from her!” he hissed furiously while they could only stare in shock at the sudden attack, one of them clutching his arm where Harry had bitten him. “Don’t you dare come _near_ her!”

“Harry, no!” Zuri’s voice was what penetrated through his haze of fury – that, and the pressure at his elbow, tugging him back away from the twins. “Don’t hurt them!”

“Zu…!” he started exasperatedly, turning to look at her, but cut himself off when he really _saw_ her.

She had been cursed. That was the best explanation for it – someone had changed her face to look like that of a donkey. Her face was covered in fur, and her two front teeth were prominent. She even had the long ears on either side of her head that flapped about when she moved. And, looking down at her hands – her hands, and up her wrists, had been changed to look like hooves. But it was her eyes that angered him the most. They hadn’t been changed, oh no. They were simply heartbreaking to look at. She had the same brown eyes as normal, but they were glassy and red and spilling with tears. And the expression in her eyes was painful – defeat, humiliation, hopelessness.

Harry whirled around, eyes blazing at the twins. “What did you do to her?” he growled. “Change her _back_!”

“Harry, it wasn’t them,” Zuri insisted, pulling at his arm again as well as she could with no fingers. “They were trying to help me. They were trying to get me to the Hospital Wing without anyone seeing me like…this.”

Harry’s anger didn’t abate, but it was redirected away from the twins, to whoever had done this to her.

But now wasn’t the time to demand answers. He didn’t want Zuri to be humiliated further, should another student walk by and see her like this. And he knew that only Volker would be able to help her.

“Alright,” Harry said lowly, and shot a look to the twins. “You two check that no one is on the way – I’ll stay with Zuri.”

Without a word, the two obeyed, rushing off down the corridor to clear the way before them. Minutes later, they made their way into the Hospital Wing, and Volker hurried up to them.

“Dearie me – you again, is it?” she said sympathetically. “Hop right up into a bed – we’ll have you sorted out.”

Harry watched in carefully guarded distress as Zuri picked a bed with the most limited view of the rest of the Wing and the matron went to the cupboard to gather several potions.

“We don’t know who did it,” one of the twins volunteered quietly after several moments. They stood a few feet behind him, giving him his distance but making sure the second year girl was okay. “She’d locked herself away in a bathroom – there were a bunch of Slytherins mocking her and telling her to come out.”

The other twin picked up the story, “We didn’t know it was Granger at the time, but we figured we’d get rid of the bullies with a few well-aimed dungbombs. After getting her to come out, we thought we’d take her here without anyone noticing – spare her some embarrassment, yeah?”

Harry wordlessly nodded his thanks to the two, and then made his way over to Zuri, the matron having just left her.

“I’ll have to stay here for several hours,” Zuri said, still appearing humiliated. “The potions need to do their work – curing partial Transfiguration with potions can take some time. She’s just getting a privacy screen now so no other student will notice when they come in with their accidents.”

“Will you be okay?” Harry asked her, taking one of her hooves in his hands as a show of support. She pulled it away, embarrassed to have it, and he reluctantly let her.

“I’ll be fine,” she said, not quite meeting his eyes. “It’s nothing I’m not used to.”

“You shouldn’t _have_ to be ‘used to’ it!” Harry said in a furious whisper, fighting tears at seeing her pain. “The adults here are _useless_! They should be doing more to protect against the bullies! If they’d been doing what they were supposed to, this would have _stopped_ before it could get so bad!”

Zuri sighed and looked away, saying nothing and clearly wishing to be alone. But he wouldn’t let that happen until he knew she felt better and he got the information he needed.

“I won’t let this continue, Zuri – I _promise_ ,” Harry vowed.

“ _Why_?!” Zuri suddenly cried desperately. “Why do you care so much about _me_? What’s so great about _me_ that you decided to throw all your loyalties behind me and leave the life you knew behind? What makes _me_ so different that you need to protect me from everyone, even at risk of getting hurt yourself. Why _me_?!”

“Zuri, you are the most _beautiful_ girl I have ever _seen_ ,” Harry asserted, cutting her off. He would’ve continued, but she spoke before he could.

“Harry, I look like a _donkey_ ,” Zuri said brokenly. “I’m hardly something to look at. And it’s not even just because of this curse – even without it, I’m _hideous_.”

“You are _not_ hideous,” Harry insisted. “I’m not lying, Zuri – you’re _magnificent_. And you’re smart – like I need to tell _you_ that – and funny, and hardworking, and very kind and thoughtful, and the greatest friend I could ever _hope_ to have.” He saw she looked stunned, though still disbelieving. “I hope someday you can believe me, because I’m not _ever_ going to change my mind about you.”

Zuri’s eyes filled with tears, but he was pretty sure that this time they weren’t sad tears, which made him feel better. She sprang forward and threw her arms around him, squeezing him in a tight hug. He hugged her back, taking the embrace as a sign that she was feeling at least a little bit better.

After pulling away, he looked at her seriously and questioned, “Zuri, who did this to you?”

Zuri looked away. “It’s not important, Harry,” she dismissed. “Even telling a teacher wouldn’t get you anywhere useful – I’ve tried that one before too, but he has too much pull.”

“Zuri,” Harry persisted. “If he gets no retaliation, he’ll think it’s okay to do this again.”

“Nothing will happen, Harry,” Zuri tried again, but Harry wasn’t taking no for an answer.

“Zuri,” he tried again, placing his hand over her wrist. She looked back at him unwillingly, and he said more softly this time, “Who was it?”

It was quiet for a moment or two, before the girl finally broke and admitted, “Draco Malfoy. He caught me at the beginning of free period.”

Harry nodded and let go of her, outwardly calm but his eyes storming with fury. “I will deal with this,” he promised, and began to turn to leave.

“Harry,” Hermione called, and he turned back to look at her with a questioning gaze. “Don’t…don’t do anything that will get you expelled.”

Harry said nothing, only quirking a sort of smile-smirk at her. “I’ll be fine, Zuri. I’ll be back soon.” He turned and left the Hospital Wing, intent on finding a certain blond-haired Slytherin with which to exact retribution.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no plans as yet for Arjun, the snake Harry saved from Snape. Really that was just for Harry and Snape’s meeting. Sorry to disappoint anyone.  
> Siyamak – man with dark eyes  
> Thanks for reading!


	26. Think

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: darker chapter with a lot more angst than normal, but there is some redemption. Possible trigger warnings.  
> Hope you enjoy!

Draco Malfoy had not been having a good week.

After hearing in the middle of last year how Harry Potter was a Parselmouth, his father had instructed him to gain the boy’s allegiance. He hadn’t been too pleased about it, and he didn’t know why his father was so sure that the golden boy would form an allegiance with the Malfoys, after having lived with his mother’s despicable cousin for several months. But he’d been obedient, and it had completely backfired.

First, no one had realized that he was already friends with the mudblood know-it-all, and wouldn’t take kindly to the truth being spoken to her face. So of course he hadn’t bothered to hold back as far as that went. It then ended in his being attacked by that awful creature Potter kept as a pet, and put him off the entire train ride. The conductor was useless, and could only cast a spell to slow the poison, so he’d had to wait till the Feast to see the bitch in the Hospital Wing that could give him the necessary potions.

Then, the Potter idiot had been Sorted into the House of the Duffs, and he’d not even cared when he made it clear that he loathed him. He hadn’t even seemed to notice. He’d completely ignored him, as though he was _beneath_ him! As _if_!

He’d been sure that his father would get that awful snake put down for its transgression – Draco had hoped Potter would be made to watch. See how the pompous brat liked _that_! He wouldn’t be strutting about the castle anymore – that was for sure.

But then Potter had actually _bitten_ his father – as though he was an _animal_! He’d been sure that that would just put the final nail into the coffin, and Draco could go about making fun of him for _weeks_ afterward…but nothing had happened. Black, that filthy blood traitor, had made his own threats, and though Draco would never admit it, he knew that what the jerk had said was true. Potter had more pull, due to being the only heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, which had eleven generations more in its family than the Noble House of Malfoy. Add to that that he was the bloody Boy-Who-Lived, and he was practically untouchable.

(Of course, now that the Black House was headed by Sirius Black, they had Lighter leanings – firmly in Dumbledore’s camp, obviously. And Malfoys weren’t afraid of bribing people for their own gains, as well as playing dirty.)

Potter had been missing all weekend also, so he couldn’t even make his displeasure known then, when there was less chance of a professor walking by to catch him cursing out the filth. Then on Monday, when Slytherin had shared three class periods with Hufflepuff, the egotistical idiot hadn’t even looked his way – not once.

He’d stewed in his anger ( _not_ self-pity, he kept repeating) all day long, and into the next day. Seeing the filthy mudblood looking quite cheerful that morning during free period had been the straw that broke the camel’s back, and he’d let spells fly without a second thought. Seeing her with the face and hooves of a donkey had helped him ease his slighted feelings, and when the bitch ran to the nearest bathroom, he’d gathered several passing Slytherins to jeer at her outside the locked bathroom door.

Then they’d been pelted with dungbombs, which Malfoy was sure was the result of the wretched Weasley twins. He’d bolted off to his dorms to wash out the smell, washing himself three times before he was satisfied no one would notice the revolting fumes.

He’d just exited the Slytherin common room, walking up to the Great Hall for lunch alone, when he was accosted by the very person he’d been mentally stewing over.

Harry felt his rage grow exponentially when he saw the poncy Slytherin making his way down the corridor. Before his brain caught up to him, he’d already let fly with a spell that hit the filthy boy in the chest, burning through his clothes and a layer of skin and sent him flying into the nearest wall. He was only glad that no one was watching so that he could let his rage unfold as much as he wanted.

“I thought you would’ve learned your lesson after Sadi bit you,” Harry said lowly, drawing closer to the slightly moaning boy with an unmistakably predatory step. “I suppose I was wrong… But I won’t let you make that same mistake again.”

He let off with the first spell he thought of – one of the nasty ones he had seen in that book just a couple of days before.

There was a loud crack, and Sully let out a choked scream as his leg snapped. Harry’s eyes seemed to glow, glad to have induced this reaction from the bully. He bent down to stare directly into his face, knowing that from this angle, Sully would be able to see nothing else but him.

“You stay away from Hermione Granger,” he said darkly, staring into dimmed grey eyes. “You hurt her again, you say something derogatory about her, you even _look_ at her with anything more than apathy, and I will break every bone in your body just as easily as I broke your leg. Understand?”

The boy moaned painfully, but didn’t say anything. Harry reached over and pushed his fingers against the break in the bone, keeping his eyes on the blonde’s face while it screwed up in pain. A muffled scream echoed through the hall, only held back by the lips pressed so tightly together they were no longer visible.

“ _Do you understand?_ ” he repeated threateningly.

“ _Yes_ ,” the boy moaned. “Please…please don’t hurt me.”

Suddenly something inside Harry shifted, and without any change in his facial expression, he stared down at the boy underneath him. He felt repulsion wave its way through him at what he’d done – not for the action itself, but that he _enjoyed_ it. He was reveling in the boy’s pain – was he really so much better than the bullies he so hated?

“Stay away from Hermione and you won’t have to worry about it,” Harry said after a moment, outwardly glaring threateningly but inwardly cringing in disgust with himself. But if there was one thing he’d learned it was don’t falter halfway through. The only way to keep Sully away from Zuri was to strike fear into him – to make him believe that he would do this again, given a reason.

He pushed away from him, and walked calmly down the corridor. But, as soon as he was out of sight from the blonde Slytherin, he ran to the nearest bathroom and emptied the contents of his stomach into the toilet.

…

Harry knew that many people realized, or at least suspected, that something was off about him. In one hour, he got four different people asking him if he was alright, and in Herbology, Professor Sprout figured out that it was because Hermione was in the Hospital Wing. He hadn’t elaborated on the reason _why_ she was there, but after being assured that he didn’t need anything, the Head of House allowed him to go about his business how he pleased.

Harry went to the Hospital Wing after Herbology, deciding to skip DADA so that he could check on Zuri. She was in a different room from the rest of the Wing; Sully had been brought in, probably by some other Slytherins, and Zuri said it was better to pretend that she wasn’t there, or Sully would get smug about the reason why – not to mention seeing her slow morph back to her normal appearance. She was curious how he’d broken his leg, but Harry decided not to tell her. He wished no one had been there to see what he’d done – not even Sully. He felt too ashamed with himself – especially when the blonde noticeably flinched when he noticed him walk by.

He left soon after that, wandering the halls before going down to the Hufflepuff Common Room. No one was in there, seeing as it was still in the middle of classes, so Harry sat down on the large black couch sitting in front of the fire. Feeling suddenly very alone, he curled up, pulling his knees up and pushing his face into them.

 _Why am I even here?_ He thought despairingly. _I wanted to protect Zuri…but I’m not doing any good. I’m only becoming just like those bullies I’ve hated all my life. What if **I** started bullying her? I don’t **want** to…but I was so gleeful when I was hurting Sully. What if I turn out just like him?_

After several minutes, he brushed his eyes of the tears he hadn’t realized he’d shed, and quickly rose to his feet, attempting to pull himself back together. Knowing that people would start filtering into the Common Room soon, he made his way to his dorm and tried to immerse himself in his books again.

But they just couldn’t hold his attention. He felt the nausea rising up in him again, and forcefully pushed it back down, trying to focus on the illustration of the wand movement for _Finite Incantatem_.

He was startled suddenly when he heard his name being called as though from a far distance, and involuntarily dropped the book into his lap. The voice came again, and he recognized it as coming from Sirius. There was only one way he’d be hearing his voice right now; he pulled out the mirror from under his pillow but then hesitated to answer it. Sirius was sure to see that something was wrong, and would no doubt pester him about it.

When his name was called a third time though, he finally decided to answer it. After making a conscious effort to make his expression neutral, he tapped the glass to answer it.

“Harry!” Sirius beamed at him. “I was feeling bored, and missing you of course, so – hey, what’s wrong?” Instantly his expression changed from cheerful happiness to concern.

“I’m – nothing,” Harry tried saying. “Why – do I look different?”

“Don’t try it, Harry – I know something is bothering you,” Sirius lightly scolded him, though still with that same worried look. “What happened?”

Harry was quiet a minute, sitting back against the headboard and chewing his lip in thought.

“Have you ever worried that you’re going to turn out just like the people you try so hard not to be?” he finally asked.

Sirius’ expression shifted to one of confusion as well as thoughtfulness. “Of course I have,” he answered. “I’ve told you about my family – the crazy Blacks all Sorted into Slytherin. When I was younger I was always scared that I’d turn out just like them. Even after being Sorted into Gryffindor I didn’t know how much I may have been like them, and that terrified me.” He smiled softly. “Of course, whenever I suggested it, James would tell me how ridiculous I was being and whacked me over the head until I agreed with him.”

“But did you ever do anything that might have proven you were just like them?” Harry pressed.

Sirius frowned to himself, looking very guilty. “Yes, a few times,” he admitted. “I – in my sixth year, I…told a boy in our year about Remus’ – condition. Dared him to go to the place he’d transformed in. All because I was tired of him bothering us and wanted him out of the way.”

“But wouldn’t Salim have attacked him, then?” Harry questioned. Sending someone to their death was not the godfather that Harry knew and loved, but if he understood right, that was exactly what he did. “Wouldn’t that turn the other boy into a werewolf – or kill him?”

“Yes,” Sirius sighed. “And while he was definitely a git, no one deserved that. I was just being stupid. Remus was upset with me for a _long_ time, too – took him a long time to forgive me. His worst fear is attacking someone in his wolf form while he is unable to stop it.”

Harry was quiet for several moments after that. If Sirius or Salim or Zuri found out what he’d done to Sully…would they have a hard time forgiving him, also? Would they be upset with him for a very long time?

“What’s going on, Harry?” Sirius’ concerned voice finally penetrated the silence.

Distantly Harry heard people entering the Common Room, chatting amicably with their friends. He swallowed and looked away from his godfather so that he didn’t have to see him when he finally admitted, “I hurt someone today.”

Sirius was quiet, waiting for Harry to elaborate on what he meant. Finally Harry said, “I don’t regret hurting him, but – I – I liked…” he choked, unable to continue, turning his face away in shame.

“Did he hurt a friend?” Sirius asked him without inflection.

Harry nodded, and an angry glint appeared in his eyes. “He was bullying Zuri,” he said, fire in his voice. “He made her look like a donkey and then kept her trapped in a bathroom with a bunch of other Slytherins making fun of her so she was too humiliated to come out. When I saw her crying and how she acted in the Hospital Wing, I just got _so angry_.” He shook his head. “I knew the teachers weren’t going to do anything – they haven’t before, so why should they now? And I didn’t want Sully doing that to Zuri again, so I – I hurt him.” The look of shame was back.

“Harry, what exactly did you do?” Sirius finally asked. “Should I expect to be called about suspension?”

“I don’t think they hang up people as punishment here,” Harry said confusedly, not understanding.

“It means you have to come home from school for some time, if you’ve done something drastic or dangerous,” Sirius explained, rubbing his forehead.

“Oh,” Harry said, then shook his head. “It wasn’t what I _did_ that was bad – it was that I was glad to hear him in pain. And that’s just like what a bully does. And I don’t _want_ to be a bully.”

“Harry,” Sirius sighed, dropping his hand and looking back up at him. “Just tell me what you did.”

“I cast the spell that blasted him into the wall first,” Harry remembered. “It burned a line through his clothes and some of his skin. Then after I had his attention I snapped his leg in half. I pushed on the break until he acknowledged that he understood I would hurt him worse if he hurt Zuri again.”

“Not that bad,” Sirius repeated in a disbelieved mutter to himself while he mentally pictured the scene that must have occurred, before speaking up for Harry’s benefit. “Harry, it’s good that you were defending Hermione from bullying, but next time try to tone it back a bit. At least allow him to walk to the Hospital Wing on his own.” It was clear that Harry disagreed with him on that, but Sirius didn’t allow him to speak up in protest. “And I can’t know exactly what happened with the Malfoy kid, but yes – I think you _did_ cross the line into bullying.” He saw Harry’s face crumple with guilt, and felt guilty himself for putting that expression onto his godson’s face, but he knew the words needed to be said.

“But on the other hand, I think that in this instance, your actions were okay.”

“Bullying is _never_ okay,” Harry cut him off in a harsh voice, though still filled with guilt.

“Alright, then asserting dominance,” Sirius acceded. “I saw what Malfoy was like in Dumbledore’s office. The only way he would back down is if someone _proved_ that they were more powerful than him – just telling him wasn’t enough. So, in this case, the only way you could have gotten through to him was by showing you would hurt him, and that you are relentless.

“Normally however, you can’t just go off and hurt someone when they bully or even hurt the feelings of someone you love. And I think the only part about your hurting Malfoy that is an issue was when you pressed on the break. You’d already hurt him; he was still _in_ pain. It was the worsening of that pain in order to get the answer that you wanted that was the bullying part that was absolutely _not_ okay.”

“I was glad to see him hurting,” Harry admitted softly.

“That’s normal, Harry – you’re only human. Sort of. He hurt your best friend – of course you want to see that pain magnified in him.”

“I don’t want to be a bully,” Harry’s voice broke. “I _can’t_.”

“Harry, the best way to stop yourself from getting on more with this is to remember this guilt you feel right now. When you want to hurt someone, remember right now, and ask yourself if it’s really worth this sick feeling to go through with your impulse. If you don’t want to become a bully, you _won’t_. I know you, Harry, and I know you’ll fight against it. Alright?”

Harry sniffed, rubbing a stray tear from his eye. “Alright,” he agreed with a nod. And he believed him.

…

The next day, Harry was much more cheerful at seeing Zuri out of the Hospital Wing, completely back to normal. She smiled a bit at him at first, but after seeing his true joy at seeing her, she opened up once again just how she had been before the bullying incident.

Sadi was happy to see Zuri again as well, and after hearing how she had been attacked while Sadi had been hunting, she had threatened to bite Sully six thousand times, just to be sure she killed him. After Harry had told her what he had done to the blonde boy, she had hissed in nothing but enjoyment. She had been sticking with Zuri ever since, whom he’d elected not to tell about his actions. (She probably knew anyway, considering that she had heard when Crabbe and Goyle had brought him into the Hospital Wing with a broken leg and a burn across his chest so soon after Harry had left.)

Professor Sprout was glad to see him looking back to normal, and correctly deduced that it was due to Hermione Granger being next to him during the double period. She smiled openly, glad to see the two with such great friends in each other – and that quiet Gryffindor Neville Longbottom, who was once again a part of their group.

They again spent lunch together, though this time they sat at the Gryffindor table with Xylon. He was happy enough to chat with them, and Harry was glad that the news of Zuri’s being transfigured the day before hadn’t made it around the school. Xylon, at least, seemed ignorant of it. Boipelo was studiously ignoring him several seats down while he stuffed his mouth with food, and Harry had a feeling that he would have said something about it if he’d known, regardless of Harry’s threats at the opening feast. He hadn’t spoken to him since then.

In Charms, Harry paired with Troi once more, who seemed to be becoming friendlier the more they spoke. Harry thought they might even be actual friends now – though he would have to wait and see, because when they were in the hallways or in the Great Hall, he acted like he wasn’t there. Harry still had yet to ascertain why, but he was glad that they could work together in class.

Sully was in Charms as well, though Harry merely gave the boy a bland look when he flinched. He wasn’t sorry for what he’d done to him, but he was glad that at least for now he was staying away from Zuri.

Charms let out several minutes early, and while the Slytherins made their way outside for Herbology, Harry waited at the end of the hall for Zuri to come out of her class so that they could go to History of Magic together.

While he leaned against the wall, the corridor emptying of students, Harry suddenly saw the redheaded twins cross the corridor at the other end of the hall. With a sudden thought of realization, he pushed himself up to a standing position and darted after them.

“Pirros!” he called after them.

He caught up to them easily enough, and they both looked at him with not a little bit of surprise.

“Harry!” one of them said in astonishment.

“I…” Harry suddenly realized that he didn’t know how to start. He didn’t think he’d ever really apologized before, and so he wasn’t sure how to go about it. “Erm…you helped Zuri.” He finally settled on.

“Hm…don’t know a ‘Zuri’…” the second twin mused. Harry noticed a faint scar on his jaw, near his ear, that the other one didn’t have. “Fred?”

“Hermione,” he clarified after a moment, realizing that they had no idea who he was talking about. “Uh – you helped Hermione yesterday.”

“Right…” the scarred twin drew out the word slowly in confusion. “We saw she needed some help after what the Slytherins did to her.”

“Only the decent thing to do, really.” The other twin added.

“Yes, I – I know,” Harry nodded, trying to think of what to say so he could adequately explain his thoughts. “And…and I know you aren’t friends with her, because she didn’t have any friends before I came, and she’s never talked about you two. But – but you helped her anyway.”

“Don’t have to know someone to realize they’re upset,” the non-scarred twin said with a shrug.

“I _know_ ,” Harry said, beginning to get frustrated that he couldn’t explain properly. “I mean – I mean that you didn’t know _me_ , either. And even though I _still_ don’t think it was the right way to go about it, I don’t think you took me from the forest with the intention of hurting me. You helped Zuri even though you’re not friends with her, so that means you’re not bullies like I thought you were in the beginning when you used the red light to make me go to sleep. So – so as far as I’m concerned, you two are okay.”

“Are you saying we should be friends, then?” the scarred one said with a mischievous, though still honestly happy grin.

“Well – at least not enemies,” Harry decided.

“Good enough for us,” the two chorused, a light sparking in their eyes that hadn’t been there since Harry had chewed them out that first day of classes.

“We’ll show you though – you’ll be begging to be friends with us by year’s end,” one of them said jovially.

“I suppose,” Harry said doubtfully. He’d never begged before – he didn’t think becoming a human would change that.

“We ought to be getting on to class now, snake boy,” the other one said. “We’ll be seeing you!”

And with that, they ran off happily, waving to him simultaneously as they turned a corner.

Harry stood there for a moment, staring after them, until he suddenly became aware of a presence at his side. He turned and saw Zuri. Surprised, he looked behind him and saw that the Transfiguration class had let out already, and students were milling about the corridors on the way to their next class.

“I saw you being civil with the Weasley twins,” Zuri said with a proud little smile. “You decided that being friends with them wouldn’t be so bad after all?”

Harry shrugged and turned to walk to History of Magic with his best friend. “I suppose time will tell. But I think they’ll turn out good.”

…

Harry wandered with Troi again during free period the next morning. He was glad that Troi had agreed to come with him – otherwise he would have been wishing for class in his boredom. He really didn’t know what to do with his extra time, and Sadi was with Zuri again. She had been very protective of the girl ever since she’d found out about the incident with Sully, and while Harry was glad that they enjoyed each others’ company, he also had a hard time being alone. He could hardly recall any time he’d been alone in his life. Even when Sadi hadn’t been hatched yet, he had still been able to feel her presence (which he now knew was due to magic), and so had never felt like he was _truly_ alone.

He also learned a lot from Troi that he hadn’t ever expected. Slytherin politics was one of them, and he found them fascinating, if a bit strict and at times unfair.

He thought it was hilarious, however, that Slytherins didn’t show their emotions, because apparently that was how Salazar Slytherin, the founder of their House was. They seemed to almost _worship_ the man, which made no sense to Harry, because what was it that really made the man special? He could talk to snakes, and he’d helped open a prestigious school. Harry could talk to snakes, so he was already halfway there. Did that mean some day _he_ would be worshipped much like Salazar Slytherin was? Of course, he had no intention of helping to open a school, but none of the other Houses’ students worshipped their founder.

Troi didn’t see the reason for his humor, but he wasn’t offended. After a certain amount of time with Harry Potter, one had to accept that he saw things much differently than anyone else. And honestly at times his naïve view on things was refreshing to someone who had grown up learning something completely different.

 “What?” Harry stopped laughing suddenly and looked sharply at Troi.

“What?” Troi echoed, not knowing why his new friend was suddenly so serious.

“What did you say?” Harry demanded.

“I didn’t say anything,” Troi shook his head.

Harry was quiet for several moments, both of them just standing there silently, before he finally, uneasily, began to walk on. He was sure he had heard something, but it had been unclear through the sound of his own laughter. It hadn’t been in a friendly tone either, which made him nervous.

“So, why do people in the same families usually get Sorted into the same House?” Harry questioned. “Take the Weasleys. I heard that they’ve all been in Gryffindor through four generations. And they have a lot of offspring in those generations. I know that Boipelo is different from Atsu and Zesiro. Even Atsu and Zesiro have their differences, and they’re twins. So why haven’t _some_ of them gone to different Houses?”

Troi shrugged. “They probably told the Hat that they wanted to go to Gryffindor, to live up to their family’s expectations.”

“But that means that the Hat isn’t fair!” Harry protested. “It’s supposed to Sort someone based on who they _are_ – not what they’re unfairly expected to be! Someone’s House Sorting can shape their whole life, and the Hat is letting itself be convinced that, even though it can read your thoughts, that a child is better at figuring out where they should go than _it_ does!”

Troi shrugged once more. “No arguments there. But sometimes someone is Sorted into a House not because they have a particular trait, but because the House will help shape a particular trait. If someone really wanted to, they could flourish in any House.”

Harry scowled. “That’s not what Zuri told me,” he grumbled. “She told me I needed to let the Hat Sort me, regardless that I wanted to go to Gryffindor.”

Troi snorted. “Well, she _is_ a stickler for the rules,” he observed. “Besides, you can’t tell me you don’t like Hufflepuff.”

“Well, I _do_ ,” Harry admitted grudgingly. “But I wanted to be in Zuri’s House. Then I could protect her.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Granger’s not exactly helpless. And trying to protect someone is hardly an excuse to be Sorted into a House that isn’t best suited to you. Trust me – you’re a Hufflepuff through and through.”

“I suppose,” Harry allowed. “But the Hat _did_ say that I would be suitable for any of the Houses. It put me in Hufflepuff so that I could have longtime, true friends. I almost went to Gryffindor, though.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t go to Slytherin, honestly,” Troi admitted.

_:Rip, tear, kill…hungry…so **hungry!** :_

Harry halted in his tracks, shocked at the Parseltongue-spoken words that seemed to emanate from the very walls. “WHAT?” he called loudly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hm…short chapter…but I think it’s best to cut it off there. And there has been a lot to happen in this chapter.  
> I may have lost a few people because of how Harry went about threatening Draco, but I hope most of you weren’t too bothered. It was a difficult scene to write, but I think what people need to understand – that I keep trying to explain – is that this is not your typical canon Harry. He is a bit Grey, because of how he grew up. And no one said Hufflepuffs couldn’t be vengeful badasses.   
> Atsu – second-born twin  
> Zesiro – firstborn twin  
> Pirro – flaming hair (I just added the ‘s’ to make it plural to refer to both of them. Sounds better than just shouting ‘twins’ after them.)  
> Thanks for reading!


	27. Emeralda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry for the long wait! I’ve had this chapter written for a while, but I didn’t want to post it while I was at a block a couple of chapters ahead…but I’ve pushed through the block! So I don’t anticipate another long wait like this one…but I suppose we’ll see how those words hold up. Thank you, everyone, for your wonderful feedback and responses to this fic – it definitely helps me keep my eyes forward so I can continue writing this!  
> It seems like very few people like Draco, so there weren’t actually as many people upset with it as I thought there might be…however, I thought I should clarify: this wasn’t just a mindless act that Harry did because he was angry that Hermione had been bullied again. That is certainly part of it, but there is more to his story for why he responded so violently. (That will be explained in more detail next chapter.) And as for him “enjoying” it – perhaps I didn’t type it out clearly enough. He didn’t enjoy it because of the magic that he used, or that he felt powerful. He enjoyed putting the bully in his place – in a way, he enjoyed the revenge against the bully. He went to Draco to keep him off of Hermione’s back, but he realized when Draco begged him to stop that he had crossed the line into REvenge, rather than Avenge. It was his realization that he enjoyed getting revenge that made him realize he was bullying him right back, no matter the circumstances leading up to it.  
> Hope that explanation cleared things up.  
> P.S. Some of you guys have said that it can be difficult remembering whose name belongs to who(m?), so any names I use in the chapter that I’ve already put the meanings of, I’ll just list at the beginning. :)  
> Troi – Blaise Zabini  
> Zuri – Hermione  
> Boetius – Lockhart

Last time…

_“But the Hat **did** say that I would be suitable for any of the Houses. It put me in Hufflepuff so that I could have longtime, true friends. I almost went to Gryffindor, though.”_

_“I’m surprised you didn’t go to Slytherin, honestly,” Troi admitted._

:Rip, tear, kill…hungry…so **hungry!** :

_Harry halted in his tracks, shocked at the Parseltongue-spoken words that seemed to emanate from the very walls. “WHAT?” he called loudly._

_…_

“Well, since you can talk to snakes and all,” Troi hurried to say, as though afraid he’d offended him by his words. “Considering Slytherin’s symbol…”

“No – Troi…” Harry said distractedly, before switching to Parseltongue and saying loudly, _:I don’t know why you’re in a school to find some food, Great Serpent, but I can assure you the closest you’ll find for hunting is in the Forbidden Forest!:_

The slithering sound stopped while Troi looked at him with slightly widened eyes, surprised at his abrupt shift in mood as well as language. It was clear that he wasn’t speaking to him though, so he remained quiet and silently wondered if the Hufflepuff was a bit crazy.

 _:Another speaker?:_ the voice said more quietly, and Harry realized that the snake speaking was even larger than he’d originally thought – even larger than a Burmese Python! He could tell it was a female, though, based on the timbre of the voice. _:Why is it that now so many speak the language of the serpents? I have only ever spoken with few, and many years apart.:_

 _:I didn’t know that anyone else here knew Parseltongue!:_ Harry hissed excitedly. _:Who is it? Do you know who they are?:_

_:I do not, little one, though they are the same as last time I was freed – but different.:_

Harry didn’t know what was meant by that, but he was glad to know that someone there at school knew his first language. He wondered why they hadn’t approached him as yet to share in the language, but then remembered that most people thought it was a sign of a Dark Wizard. Maybe no one else knew about their abilities, and they wanted to keep it that way.

“Harry, who are you talking to?” Troi asked curiously. “I thought you’d left your sister with Granger.”

 _:What is your name, Great One?:_ Harry asked in the general direction the voice had come from.

_:I have gone by many, though my favorite one was Emeralda.* It was given to me by my first master, because of my scales that are the color of emeralds.:_

“Her name is Emeralda,” Harry explained to Troi.

“Right,” Troi said slowly, looking at him as though he was crazy. “I’ll just leave you two alone, then. Sounds like you have some chatting to do. I’ll see you in Transfig, yeah?”

“Alright,” Harry accepted, and the boy waved farewell to him as he made his way down the corridor.

Harry turned back to the wall, and finally sat down in front of it to talk.

 _:I’m Harry, by the way,:_ he introduced himself belatedly. _:I’m a second year student here, even though it’s only my first year **here**. Sirius and Salim, my guardians, taught me my first year at home before I came here.:_

 _:It is a pleasure to meet another Speaker, Harry,:_ the serpent said, sounding honestly pleased. _:Especially as you sound even more fluent with Parseltongue than even Salazar did. I know with humans that it is hereditary to be able to speak the serpents’ language, but you seem to have a keen understanding of it – more so than any other Speaker I’ve met.:_

 _:That’s probably because it’s my first language,:_ Harry explained. _:It’s the one I learned first, when I was very young, because I grew up as a snake. I only learned to speak English a little while ago, and after a lot of help from Sirius and Salim. Salim tells me that I have a Parseltongue accent even when I speak English. Some of the students have mentioned it also.:_

_:Fascinating. My first master, Salazar, was able to become a snake as well. But how can one have a Parseltongue accent, exactly?:_

_:He says it sounds like I’m hissing the English words,:_ Harry described, trying to remember Salim’s words for it. _:Like my aitches seem lower and my esses seem longer. Some of the students here find it frightening.:_

 _:Then they are fools,:_ Emeralda declared. _:It is a noble language – always remember that it is a matter of pride to be able to speak the serpent tongue as a human.:_

 _:I know that,:_ Harry nodded. _:Sometimes it just gets a little annoying when they jump like I’m about to curse them just because I’m talking with Sadi.:_

_:And who is Sadi? I assume another snake.:_

_:She’s my sister,:_ Harry answered readily with a smile. _:She was the only egg who survived her mother’s clutch after being attacked by a hawk while still in development in her mother’s body. I helped to keep her warm until she hatched, and she’s always been with me ever since then. She’s with Zuri right now though, because she was worried that Zuri might be attacked again.:_

_:This…’Zuri’…she is a human?:_

_:Yes. She’s why I stayed with the humans. Lots of people bully her, so I’m here to make sure that stops.:_

_:An admirable choice,:_ Emeralda praised.

 _:Where **are** you, anyway?: _Harry questioned. _:You sound too close to be in the corridor parallel.:_

 _:I believe you humans call them ‘pipes’.:_ Emeralda commented. _:They are large enough for me to get through, and go throughout the building and back into the Chamber.:_

 _:But why are you in the school?:_ Harry asked confusedly. _:Surely a serpent would wish to be free? And I don’t think there’s anything big enough in here to satisfy your appetite.:_

_:One of the Founders of the school, Salazar Slytherin, helped hatch me in here to protect the children from the Muggles. There were many attacks in those days, but I haven’t heard the screams of war in much time. There was a time a little while ago, but I was able to rid the school of the filth. And I grow hungrier each time I wake up. He didn’t bring me food this time, but he said after I got rid of some of the Muggles that he would bring me some cattle. So I must bid you farewell now, little one.:_

_:Wait!:_ Harry jumped to his feet in alarm, enormously confused. _:Someone told you that there were **Muggles** here for you to kill?:_

_:Yes, of course. That is my reason for staying here, after all.:_

_:But there **aren’t** any Muggles here!: _Harry protested. _:Salim told me that there haven’t been any Muggles in the castle, let alone attacking anyone here, for over three hundred years!:_

 _: **What?** : _the serpent sounded angry and confused. _:You must be mistaken! It wasn’t so long ago that the boy came in panicked about Muggle attacks on the students! I got rid of the filth – I **killed** it!:_

 _:That must’ve been a student!:_ Harry gasped, dread filling his stomach. _:He must have been tricking you!:_

 _:How can **you** be certain, though?: _Emeralda demanded. _:You are **much** too young to have been there!:_

 _:There’s protection on the school now!:_ Harry insisted, knowing that he was right and wanting to make sure she knew it. He was sure that she would be upset when she accepted the mistake, but it would also prevent it from happening again. _:The Muggles don’t even know that Hogwarts **exists** , and if they come upon the grounds, all they see is an abandoned ruin! No one **wants** to attack magic people anymore!:_

 _:Then why did that boy tell me that Muggles were attacking?:_ the snake despaired. _:He convinced me that I needed to kill them, and that’s why I came out of the Chamber!:_

 _:Maybe it was a Muggleborn that was killed,:_ Harry ventured. _:Some people don’t like Muggleborns or halfbloods because they think they’re inferior. Maybe they were trying to purge the school of people they didn’t like. I don’t know who else would lie about Muggles being here.:_

 _:But it was only one who died,:_ Emeralda said weakly. _:Though many were petrified.:_

_:Then maybe after one died, he got caught. Or he got scared he would be caught, and so he told you all was well.:_

_:I am sorry, little Speaker,:_ the giant snake hissed sadly. _:I did not know. And you are sure that there are no Muggles anymore?:_

 _:I’m sure,:_ Harry confirmed. _:And don’t feel too badly, Emeralda. You were tricked. The death was not your fault.:_

 _:I shall go back, then,:_ Emeralda decided, and he heard her large body moving slightly in the walls. _:It is the same boy as before who told me that there are more Muggles. Next time he comes, I shall eat him.:_

 _:Wait!:_ Harry cried. _:How can it be the same boy as before? How long ago was it that you came out last time?:_

 _:Many years,:_ the giant serpent realized. _:But the voice is still that of a student – perhaps sixteen human years old.:_

 _:We need to find out who wants you to kill people,:_ Harry said determinedly. _:So if you could hold off on eating the one who comes to lie to you of Muggle invaders, you can pretend to follow his instructions. But don’t kill them, just – what was it? ‘Petrify’ them?:_

_:Indeed. It freezes all of their bodily functions, but they’re still alive, and it’s curable by potions.:_

Harry nodded to himself, having suspected this, but he was curious about one thing. _:If I may be so bold, how can you choose if your venom only petrifies, or if it kills? When I become a snake, I just bite and hope for the best.:_

 _:I don’t petrify or kill with my venom – though a drop of my venom can kill a human in under a minute if it goes into their blood.:_ Harry was indeed impressed by this.

The snake continued, _:I can kill someone just by looking into their eyes. If they see my eyes indirectly, such as through a reflection, they are petrified.:_

Harry’s brain instantly snapped to just a few days before, when he had finally got around to looking up the creature who had contributed to the core of his Parseltongue wand. Zuri had babbled to him excitedly about it, having already done the research, and he remembered the main feature of the basilisk – it could kill someone with a single look.

His rough approximation of the size of the serpent he had been speaking to suddenly morphed into something much larger – he remembered Zuri saying that the largest known recorded basilisk size was twenty-four meters. This snake he was speaking to was easily the length of the corridor! And he’d thought his assumptions had been rather large.

 _:Alright,:_ he said after a moment. _:I’ll leave you to it, then. If you need to find me, I’m in Hufflepuff – though sometimes I go to the library with Zuri. I’ll hear you if you call for me. After the boy comes to you again, can you let me know, and see who the boy is? I can get some help from one of my teachers.:_

 _:Of course, Harry,:_ Emeralda promised. _:And I shall endeavor to resist the temptation to break him in half on my fangs for what he is trying to make me do.:_

With that straightforward comment, Emeralda continued on through the pipe, leaving Harry to stand there in awe of whom he had just met.

…

As soon as Harry saw Zuri again, now at lunch, he excitedly told her in whispers of the basilisk he had met. It was rather lucky that many students weren’t there yet, so that there was less chance of someone overhearing and leaping to conclusions. At least a third of the students still thought he was a Dark Wizard, or at least one in the making, and visiting with a basilisk would do nothing for those opinions.

However, unlike Harry, Zuri wasn’t excited – but rather alarmed.

“There’s a giant snake running loose in the school that can kill someone with a single look!” she said in a strained whisper. “We have to tell someone! It could kill someone again!”

“She was tricked last time!” Harry protested. “She was very sad to have discovered this – she wanted to kill the one who had tricked her. She thought it was a Muggle, and that she was protecting the students here. That’s why she was brought here – to protect the school from Muggles. She’s not _dangerous_ – she’s just hungry.”

“How do you know she wasn’t _lying_ to you, though?” Zuri said in distress. “Or what if she _accidentally_ kills someone while taking on the spying role? What then?”

“She won’t,” Harry said with full confidence. “Great Snakes are known for their wisdom, and she is even Greater than the ones most snakes know of. She will be very careful, and she won’t break her word.

“And we can’t tell someone – the secrets at Hogwarts are well-known for becoming common knowledge to everyone within a day. You said so yourself. If we told someone, even a teacher, then whoever is ordering Emeralda to attack students will find out, and will hide. We might never find who the traitor is.”

“You _do_ know what traitor means, right?” Zuri said with a raised eyebrow, not knowing how the word could be used in his statement and make sense.

Harry was slightly offended. “Of course I do. Traitors were known amongst snakes, too, though it wasn’t very common. Anyway, whoever is doing this is either a teacher or a student, and therefore they’re betraying Hogwarts and everyone who lives here. And we can’t lose them, especially since we know that with Emeralda it will be perfectly safe.”

“Alright,” Zuri said, still doubtful though willing to trust him. “I’m going to go do some research, though. I want to see how this un-petrifying goes. You coming?”

“Of course,” Harry said, and finished the last of the water in his goblet before standing up and following his best friend to the library.

…

During the free period Harry had after lunch, he found himself accompanied by Hannah and Susan. He looked between them curiously, wondering what they wanted.

“Hi!” Hannah said brightly. “Thought you could use some company! What’s up?”

 _What an odd question – why doesn’t she just look and see for herself?_ Harry mused to himself, but looked up anyway.

“The ceiling,” he answered after a moment. “It appears to be the same ceiling as in the rest of the school.”

Susan snorted. “Smart arse,” she told him without heat.

Harry remembered Sirius telling Salim the exact same phrase before, but he couldn’t recall what it meant. He did know, however, that it didn’t have anything to do with his anus, or with being intelligent.

“So, we heard rumors that you’re good with the Weasley twins again,” Hannah said companionably as they walked down the corridor.

“How do people hear these things so quickly?” Harry demanded. “No one even heard us talking.”

“But they saw you, and you weren’t shouting at them,” Susan pointed out. “Shows you don’t at least hate their guts.”

“Hating only someone’s guts is enormously stupid,” Harry retorted. “If I hated someone, I would hate their entire body, inside _and_ out. Like Siyamak.”

“Right, who’s See-yuh-mahk?” Hannah asked, stumbling a bit on a bit of rough stone. “I’ve heard you give different names to other people, but I haven’t heard that one.”

“The _evil_ professor,” Harry answered darkly.

“Oh, you mean Professor Snape,” Susan said, the metaphorical light bulb going off in her head. “No one likes him, really – except the Slytherins, of course. Well, now you’ve seen why.”

“What does Siyamak mean?” Hannah questioned curiously.

“’Man with dark eyes’,” Harry reported. “Though I’m trying to look for one that means ‘penis-head’. It would be better for him.”

Both girls appeared to be fighting to hold in their laughter. Finally Susan said in a quavering voice from the restraint of holding back her snickers, “You mean dickhead?”

“I suppose,” Harry allowed. “Though I don’t know the difference between them.”

“It’s just the word,” Susan explained, as Hannah had finally succumbed to her giggles and didn’t appear to be able to stop any time soon. “It’s not saying that someone’s head is literally… _that_ …it’s just saying they’re an idiot – though in more graphic terms.”

“Then perhaps his actual name should just be ‘dickhead’,” Harry declared. “Because I don’t think that there _would_ be an actual name for ‘idiot’, or any comparison thereof.”

“Just don’t let him hear it, and I think you’ll be fine,” Hannah laughed.

“Do you have different names for everyone?” Susan asked curiously after they’d got their laughter under control.

“Not everyone,” Harry allowed. “But most people, yes, because frequently the names they give don’t suit them. Sirius’ has always been Sirius, because the sense of fun about the name is the same as his personality. But like yours, Hannah would suggest you’re very graceful, but you trip and fall down a lot.” As though to prove his point, she stumbled over nothing right as he said that.

“So then what names did you give us, then?” Hannah asked, trying to fight the blush making its way to her face at his observation – and not just that he’d noticed, but that he’d actually said something about it with such blasé.

“You’re Caritta – it means charitable,” he explained before she could ask. To Susan, he said, “And you seem adventurous, so I decided on Nanda.”

“This is so cool – it’s like secret spy names!” Hannah said excitedly, and stumbled again.

“I don’t keep the names a secret,” Harry said confusedly. “I just don’t need to use them a lot.”

“What does ‘Zuri’ mean?” Susan asked him. “Everyone’s noticed that’s what you call Hermione Granger.”

“’Beautiful’,” Harry said simply, and Susan and Hannah both couldn’t help a fond grin at his answer. “It’s a shortened version of ‘Zurisha’ – but with the ‘sha’ it could also be talking about having fair skin. ‘Zuri’ is simply just ‘beautiful’.”

“That’s really sweet, Harry,” Hannah said with a smile at him.

“Someone’s name is supposed to suit them,” Harry said, not understanding why they were looking at him the way they were. “And ‘Zuri’ sums her up best. It doesn’t just mean pretty or pleasing to look at – it’s her personality that’s beautiful, too. She’s very nice, even after so many people have been mean to her for so long.”

Suddenly they became aware of an owl flying toward them at rapid speed down the corridor, straight for Harry. Instinctively he ducked, yelping, causing the two girls to look at him strangely. The owl hooted irritably, flying a couple of feet above Harry’s head, and when he saw the letter, he remembered that owls were used to send mail. He’d even sent letters himself a couple of times, but he always made a point of leaving breakfast before the owls came, or not showing up until after they were gone. Now that he could see that the letter was for him, he supposed that’s why he was getting it now.

Remembering Salim’s coaching, he tentatively put his arm up, a sign for the owl to land on it. When the large barn owl did, he rapidly untied the letter so the owl could leave as soon as possible.

As the glorified bird took off once more, Harry opened the envelope and pulled out the letter inside.

“Are you afraid of _owls_?” Hannah questioned him while he unfolded the letter containing unfamiliar handwriting.

“A bit,” Harry answered distractedly. “Owls eat snakes.”

Oblivious to the look the two girls exchanged, he began reading through the letter, quite slowly – he _was_ still a beginner, after all. After the first couple of sentences, he folded it again and looked up at the two with a smile.

“Who’s it from?” Susan asked curiously.

Harry didn’t answer the question. “I need you girls’ help,” he said simply. “Are you willing?”

“Sure,” Hannah said without pause. “What do you need us to do?”

“We’ll have to work quickly,” Harry said as they began walking down the corridor again. “But I think we can manage it. Here’s what needs to be done…”

…

In Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry was still without Sadi, and Boetius seemed to think that this meant Harry wasn’t going to be a problem anymore. At least, that’s what Harry assumed the pompous man thought – he was definitely less skittish than normal. Harry idly mused that he would have to remember to bring Sadi every time he had the class then, because he had no intention of making this easy for the fraud.

The professor was teaching about werewolves this period, and trying to explain how he had changed a werewolf back into a man with the ‘intensely complex Homorphous Charm’, thereby saving an entire village.

Halfway through class, he raised his hand, as he’d surmised the teachers seemed to think was a necessary rule. The other students did it before talking, anyway, so he supposed it was normal. When his hand went up, he heard a faint murmur go through the class, but it seemed to be excited rather than confused or annoyed. He paid no attention to it, though – he had no time to wonder what oddities the other students were thinking of now.

“Boetius,” he said innocently before he was called on to speak, “If the Homorphous Charm is supposed to change a werewolf back into their human form, why doesn’t someone just do it for the werewolf every month? Wouldn’t it be better to make sure everyone was safe if this could happen?”

“But the question is, who is brave enough to get near enough to the creature to cast the spell before it rips their throat open?” Lockhart said, trying to sound like Harry wasn’t making him nervous simply by addressing him. “Or worse – changes _them_ into a werewolf? No one in this little village was willing to step forward, so I of course had to present myself. With my extensive knowledge in spells…”

“But Professor,” Harry interrupted, “If that’s the only problem, why don’t the werewolves feel badly for it and lock themselves up, and have a friend perform the spell?”

“And, pray tell, what werewolf do you know who has _any_ friends?” Boetius chuckled. “Never mind one willing enough to learn the intensely complex Homorphous…”

“Then why don’t they go to the Ministry?” Harry suggested, interrupting again while trying to push down his irritation with the first comment. “Surely the Aurors are skilled enough to know the spell, or at least be able to learn it. Why do you think you’re the only one skilled enough or brave enough to do it?”

“Dear boy…” the foolish man started, but Harry wouldn’t give him an inch and talked over him.

“The first time you saw me, you shrieked loud enough to make the crowd waiting for you to sign their books step back. If you can’t handle meeting a twelve-year-old, how do we know you’re brave enough to face down a werewolf?”

“In my published works…” Boetius tried to puff himself up again, but everyone could see him beginning to wilt.

“Yes, we know _all_ about what’s in your published works,” Harry said snidely. “The ones that _you_ wrote. I just want to know – who is your fact checker? Was there really even a werewolf in the first place?”

“Of course there was! I was able to…”

“Because I’ve met a werewolf,” Harry spoke over him, and his words had the instant effect of silencing the gossiping whispers of the other students. Harry briefly glanced at the rest of them, wondering why they appeared shocked and frightened, before remembering that a lot of people were scared of werewolves. He suddenly remembered that Salim’s condition was a closely-guarded secret, and decided to fib a little.

“I lived in the forest my whole life,” he said, “And since werewolves are mindlessly shunned by everyone else, they have to find a place to transform where no one else will find out what they are. So, as they gravitate toward forests less known for having humans going through, I’ve encountered a couple of them in the ten years I lived with the snakes. And they feel awful at what they become – they hate _themselves_ more than _you_ fear them. So, I have to wonder – why was that man supposedly in the center of the village, anyway? Did you bring him there so that you could get the fame and glory from saving everyone? Or did it really even happen in the first place?”

“Class dismissed!” the blond man shouted, sounding just on the edge of panic. “I’ll see you all tomorrow!”

While they packed up their bags (with Boetius making a beeline for his office), Harry had to smile to himself at the panic he’d instilled in the idiot, as well as making the rest of the class think. For once he was grateful for the Hogwarts rumor mill, as by dinner time this conversation – and Lockhart’s reaction to it – would no doubt be around the entire school.

…

_Draco,_

_I have noticed something odd about that Potter boy. I am not sure what it is, but do be sure to watch him. I want to know what he is hiding._

_Do not fail me, boy._

_-Father_

Draco nervously looked around to be sure that he wasn’t being watched, and then read the brief missive from his father once again.

Surely his father knew that Potter was dangerous. Potter had bit him like a bloody animal, for Merlin’s sake – and didn’t even show disgust at tasting the blood. If Draco hadn’t seen Potter eating meat at the Hufflepuff or Gryffindor tables several times, he would’ve sworn that he was a vampire. Sometimes he even thought that his canine teeth elongated a bit, just like a vampire’s right before feeding. Clearly living in the forest had tweaked with his brain a bit – he was simply savage.

He still shivered when he thought of what had happened on Tuesday, alone in the hallway with just the two of them. Although Draco would never admit it, Potter had _terrified_ him. It wasn’t just the anger that was displayed – it was the apathy while he was hurting him that was frightening. He thought it might be even worse than if Potter had _enjoyed_ inflicting that pain. And while he was ashamed at breaking under Potter’s actions, he knew that if he hadn’t surrendered that he would’ve been hurt a whole lot more, until he _did_ give in.

So, even though his father had given him orders, he had no intention of following through. He didn’t have a death wish – he was sure as hell _not_ going to get in the freak’s way.

He pulled his quill and ink out of his bag and turned over the letter from his father to write his response on the back.

_Father,_

_I have already watched Potter a lot in his time here. I don’t think there are any specific things that prove he is an oddity, but maybe you, in your wisdom, can see something where I can’t. Here are the things I’ve noticed:_

  * _He has a Parseltongue accent. (It’s rumored that Parseltongue is his first language, and he had to be taught how to speak English when he came back to the Wizarding World, even though he could understand it well enough.)_
  * _He is always with Hermione Granger, that mudblood I’ve told you about._
  * _He hates Professor Snape – I think this is because he teaches Potions, and sometimes we have to use snake parts in the potion we’re making. Which leads to –_
  * _That snake he always has with him – he sees her as a sister. He seems to see any slight against snakes as an attack on her personally._
  * _He is very protective of all snakes – I’m surprised he didn’t go to Slytherin._
  * _Even though he’s a Hufflepuff, he’s definitely not a pushover. He will hurt you if he thinks you’ve wronged him or his snake or pet mudblood in any way._
  * _Sometimes I swear he has fangs – like a vampire – but then after I blink they’re gone._
  * _He hates Professor Lockhart for some reason – I think he realizes what a fraud he is and doesn’t like the fact that he’s teaching here. He’s said a lot of things that make it seem like he’s trying to discredit him as soon as possible._
  * _He’s on good terms with Professors Flitwick, McGonagall, and obviously Sprout._
  * _He comes up with nicknames for everyone – I’ve heard through rumors that they apparently mean something._
  * _He used to go by ‘Silas’ when he first came back – I don’t know why he’s decided to go by Harry, now._
  * _He distrusts Dumbledore – I don’t know why. Some people have said that they’ve noticed he seems to be afraid of him for some reason._
  * _He yelled at the Weasley twins when he first came back to school, but now he seems somewhat neutral toward them._
  * _He dislikes Ron Weasley and his group – I believe it’s because they bullied the mudblood last year._
  * _He seems to dislike bullying in general, no matter who it is toward._
  * _He doesn’t care who’s in what House – he’ll talk to and even befriend whoever he wants. I don’t know if it’s because he’s accumulating powerful people or if it’s just naïve Hufflepuff coincidence. He’s been seen with Blaise Zabini, Neville Longbottom, Susan Bones, and Zacharias Smith._
  * _He doesn’t seem to care about his fame – he even tries to hide if there’s a chance many people will notice him. But it’s not shyness – he has quite the pair on him if he gets offended._
  * _He isn’t ashamed of the fact that he’s grown up in the forest – he even points it out in casual conversation if someone doesn’t know why he doesn’t understand something._
  * _I’ve heard through the rumor mill that he was actually raised by snakes, and that’s why he understands them so well. _
  * _He doesn’t like clothes – at all. He only wears the outer robe around school, and he shows no shame in it. I suppose it makes sense, considering he was naked for ten years in the forest._
  * _When he first came to school, most of the school was scared of him. Now, there’s probably only about a third of the students scared of him – the others either blindly think he’s alright because he’s in Huffleduff, or have decided to hold off on their judgment of him. His House appears to be sticking behind him, at least._



_That’s all I know of for now. Please, Father, don’t make him too angry, whatever it is you’re doing. I have no doubt he can be ruthless when he wants to be. This is why I can’t make it obvious that I’m watching him, so I’m afraid there may not be a lot more information I’ll be able to give you._

_However, I will try my best._

_Your loving son,_

_Draco_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *If you’ve read Courage and Cunning by preciousann, I totally took that name from it. After reading that fic, I can’t think of any better name for her, so Emeralda it will be. (P.S. Totally recommend you go read that one. Unfortunately it’s still a work in progress, but 63 chapters can keep you a while. You won’t regret it.)  
> Caritta – charitable  
> Nanda – adventurous, daring  
> Thanks for reading!


	28. Bullies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my lovely people! University is kicking my butt, and it’s keeping me so busy. (Taking 17 credits this term because I only took 13 last term…:/) That’s the only excuse I can give you for my lateness in updating! Please forgive me!  
> This chapter will hopefully answer a lot of questions people still have from things I’ve mentioned even as early as Chapter 5, such as why Harry latched onto Hermione and trusted her so easily from the beginning. If you still have questions, well…I don’t know what else I can do for you.   
> Hope you enjoy!  
> Zuri – Hermione  
> Salim – Remus  
> Saghir – Flitwick  
> Xylon – Neville  
> Boipelo – Ron

Hermione looked at her best friend suspiciously when he received a package Sunday morning at breakfast. Or rather, she looked at the package suspiciously – it was moving, and while Harry appeared nervous, he seemed to know what was inside, because he didn’t worry too much about it. She wondered if he might have got pranks from the Weasley twins – she’d seen them whispering together the day before, but they’d separated before Hermione came near.

But that also wasn’t _like_ Harry – so far she hadn’t seen him much care for jokes and pranks – besides the occasional one against Sirius or Remus, that is, and that was in retaliation for a previous prank. She’d never seen him as the instigator of a prank war. She didn’t know why he would need pranks at school, but she didn’t know why else he would receive a _moving_ box.

Furthering her suspicions, he didn’t open the package, but rather leaned over the table to give it to Susan Bones. She seemed to have been expecting it, as she said nothing about it and began to rise, taking the box with her.

“What’s in the package, Susan?” Hermione asked curiously, hiding her suspicions with practiced ease.

“Oh, just some stuff my Auntie sent me,” she said unconcernedly. “My owl is sick, so I asked Harry if I could use his. Of course, it’s not _his_ owl, but it’s the one that sent his last letter from Mr. Black, so…” she shrugged and turned away with Hannah Abbott following closely after. “See you guys later,” she called back, and left the Great Hall.

Hermione gazed after them suspiciously – Susan had been completely at ease as she explained, suggesting that she was telling the truth…but then why would the owl deliver it to Harry rather than Susan? Just because it was Harry’s (or, Sirius’) owl didn’t mean that it couldn’t deliver to anyone else.

Besides that, Harry usually left before the owls came for mail – unless he was expecting a letter from his guardians. But he’d received no such letter today, and yet he had still been here for the mail. Like he’d been _expecting_ the package to go to him.

Outwardly she remained stoic, but inwardly she narrowed her eyes at the boy. Just what was he up to?

…

Throughout the day, Harry didn’t do anything noticeably suspicious – in fact, he was rather the same as always. She might have doubted her suspicions from breakfast if it hadn’t been for Sadi.

Sadi had taken to being with Hermione more often ever since the spell that had turned her face into a donkey’s, and had been curled around the back of her neck for most of the day. She knew that usually Sadi would only tense up when she thought Hermione or herself was in danger, but now she was constantly tensing. It was ever-so-slight, but she still noticed it. There was nothing around to suggest that she should even be on her guard, and Sadi didn’t appear _concerned_ , exactly… Though, she felt like more people were looking at her from the corners of their eyes than usual. That might have been just the paranoia, but… She wasn’t sure what to make of it.

Finally, after a light dinner, she discovered what all the fuss was about.

During dinner, Harry hadn’t been all that hungry – a first for him. He had assured her that he didn’t feel sick in the least, and he’d just had a bigger lunch. She couldn’t remember if he had indeed eaten more than normal, but she wasn’t one to doubt her friend with no proof. She accepted this explanation, and ate a lighter dinner, as he seemed to not care to be in the Great Hall longer than usual – likely because he wasn’t eating, anyway.

They were eating at the Gryffindor table this meal, which was why Hermione could be forgiven for not noticing that most of the younger Hufflepuffs were gone from their House table.

Finally, she rose to her feet, Harry following along with her as they made their way from the Great Hall. Chatting idly about their classes the next day, Hermione looked at her friend curiously out the corner of her eye. He appeared not to notice as they made their way to the Hufflepuff Common Room, as was their usual after eating dinner.

Harry knocked on the barrel to let themselves in, and then stepped back to let her go first. Thinking nothing of it, as this was their usual routine, she ducked her head to get inside the hole into the main common.

As soon as she rose to her normal height, she was suddenly assaulted by the sound of firecrackers as a great shout went up from the students assembled there –

“SURPRISE!”

Hermione stopped in her tracks, blinking in astonishment as her brain processed what was happening. Her gaze darted about, taking in the red and gold streamers adorning the yellow-tinted brick walls, the “Happy Birthday” balloons floating about the ceiling, the giant cake sitting off to one side of the room, and the table beside it with a pile of presents stacked up, most wrapped in gold paper. Her gaze went to the assembled students, which must have counted at least thirty or forty in number. Most of them were Hufflepuff, but she recognized the Weasley twins, Neville Longbottom, Blaise Zabini, and the odd Ravenclaw from the boat ride up to the school, all still in their school uniforms trimmed in their House colors. Several of the younger students were wearing pointed party hats, and Fred and George each had a hat that had “Happy Birthday” in letters blinking between red and yellow.

“You…this is…you did this for me?” Hermione stammered disbelievingly.

“It was Harry’s idea,” one of the twins called out with a beaming smile.

“And we all helped,” the other twin added.

Without warning, Hermione spun around and crushed Harry to her in a breath-stealing hug. “Thank you, thank you, _thank you_!” she whispered fiercely, tears stinging at her eyes. Never before had someone done something so obviously kind for her. Of course she knew Harry cared for her, and one could argue that he’d done enough simply by giving up his life in the forest so that he could be there for her – but Harry had gone beyond that and figured out her birthday and set all this up without her ever knowing about it. He’d reached out to others to remind _them_ of the day as well, a day that the year before had been completely unacknowledged by all but her parents. That he was declaring so openly how he cared for her in front of other people seemed to prove to her that he wasn’t going anywhere. Her love for him only grew at this action.

She pulled away with a beaming smile, and accepted the party hat from Hannah that was magically held in place on her head while Harry casually pulled Sadi off of her neck.

Then Susan came forward with a box in her hands – the same box she’d received that morning at breakfast. Warily Hermione gazed at it while Susan handed it with a wordless grin to Harry before stepping back.

“You should probably have _this_ present right now,” Harry said, appearing nervous as he held the slightly moving box. “It’s kind of…crazy… Anyway, it’s from me and Sirius and Salim, and your parents said it was alright, and…well, just open it.”

With a bewildered, though still happy smile, Hermione accepted the box from his hands and pulled the lid off. She had just enough time to see a squished face covered in ginger-colored fur before the ball of fur streaked out of the box, pouncing up to Hermione’s chest and knocking her backwards a bit. Instinctively she clutched it to her, dropping the box to the ground, and then pulled it back so that she could see it more clearly.

Instantly she recognized it – she had seen this young cat in the window of the pet shop at Diagon Alley during the summer, but at the time had supposed that it wouldn’t be such a great idea to get a pet cat when cats weren’t friendly to snakes. She’d been sure that Harry would be nervous or afraid around it, even knowing he was safe but still keeping to his instincts of a snake, and had decided to forego having a pet altogether. But now that _Harry_ was the one giving it to her…

The cat that had been so desperate to escape the confines of the box now seemed quite content to simply sit in Hermione’s arms, letting out a low purr and swinging its bottlebrush tail back and forth across her arm. She grinned down at what to some might be mistaken as a small tiger, and then beamed up at Harry, who still appeared slightly nervous as he gazed at it, hand unconsciously touching the end of Sadi’s tail as though to reassure himself she was still there.

“Oh, Harry, he’s _beautiful_ ,” she gushed. “Thank you so much!”

He crooked a fond smile at her. “Of course, Zuri,” he said, clearly pleased to have made her happy. “Happy birthday.”

…

The party went on rather late, and Harry quite enjoyed himself, even though there were only sugary foods there and the sun had been down for quite a while, making him feel tired. He was too glad to see Zuri beaming to care about being a bit peckish or sleepy.

It was later at the party that Harry encountered Luna Lovegood again – though by now he had decided that Caprice was a better name for her. Zuri was chatting with Xylon, the ginger-colored cat in her arms, and Caprice was standing with a faint smile beside the fireplace. He was confused to see that she was once again barefoot; she hadn’t given his shoes back to him, so he didn’t know why she would go without once again after she’d said she preferred wearing them when it was chilly. Even _Harry_ was wearing shoes that day, and he was sure that by now everyone in the castle knew how he felt about the awful things. He wondered if that was perhaps the reason she was standing by the fire – that her feet were cold again.

“Hello, Harry,” she greeted in her airy way when he walked over to her. “Hello, Sadi.”

“Hi,” Harry greeted absentmindedly, echoed by his sleepy sister – even though Caprice couldn’t understand her – while he stared down at Caprice’s feet. “Why aren’t you wearing shoes again?”

The girl hummed, swaying a bit to an imaginary tune. “The Nargles have been at it again,” she informed him seriously. “They’ve been quite sneaky of late.”

“Who _are_ the Nargles?” Harry demanded. “Why do they keep stealing your shoes? Why do they need them so badly?”

“Oh, it’s not just the shoes,” Caprice laughed lightly. “They like to take my hairbrush and clothes sometimes, too. Once they even took my socks with the popsicles on them.”

“They sound like bullies,” Harry said suspiciously.

Caprice hummed. “Perhaps so,” she conceded. “But maybe they just really needed the socks with the popsicles on them. They might have gotten bored with the ones with the avocados on them, and wanted a change.” She smiled vaguely up at him. “Thank you for inviting me to Zuri’s party tonight,” she said. “It is quite fun – almost like having friends.” Then she skipped off to go eat another piece of cake.

Harry blinked after her in confusion, the threads of suspicion beginning to creep their way into his mind.

…

Harry contemplated Caprice’s shoe-disappearing situation the rest of the night. He was present enough to wish Zuri a happy birthday at the end of the night, but she did insist that he didn’t need to walk her all the way back to her Common Room; Neville, Fred, and George were there, after all. So he bid farewell to anyone who called out to him and made his way to his dorm. He laid Sadi out on the rock underneath his bed, where she fell quickly to sleep, having been very drowsy for a good hour now. He swiftly undressed completely before sliding into bed, closing the curtains around the bed and then pulling out his mirror from underneath his pillow.

“Sirius,” he called out quietly. Sirius answered moments later, still looking very awake for how late it was.

“Hey, Harry!” he called. “How did Hermione’s surprise party go?”

Harry’s lips curved into a smile at the memory of Zuri’s expression. “It was wonderful,” he said happily. “She didn’t think that anyone would know or remember the day – but I think that she knew we were planning something today, just not _what_. She liked the cat, too.” His nose wrinkled in distaste. “I know you said that cats and Kneazles _want_ to be someone’s pet, but it was still weird to give her an animal for her present.”

“I understand,” Sirius nodded. “Good call asking her parents for permission, though.”

“There’s a girl here,” Harry said suddenly. “Her name is Luna Lovegood. She talks about these things called ‘Nargles’ that take her stuff. What _are_ Nargles? Are they very dangerous?”

Sirius looked confused. “I’ve never heard of ‘Nargles’,” he said. Before he could continue, Salim appeared next to Sirius, speaking to Harry.

“You said her name was Lovegood?” he clarified.

Harry nodded. “I call her Caprice,” he elaborated.

Salim said in an aside to Sirius, “Xeno and Pandora’s daughter”, and Harry saw the recognition flit across his godfather’s face.

“If she’s anything like her parents, she is a very strange girl at first glance,” Salim began.

“Any glance, really,” Sirius said in an aside.

“Yes, I suppose at any glance. But they also have a tendency to say things that make sense if you think of them more as symbols than actual beings. The Nargles, for example, are likely some Ravenclaws – she may not even know who, exactly, she’s talking about. Just the people stealing her things.”

“Then why does she call them ‘Nargles’?” Harry was enormously confused. “Why doesn’t she just say ‘the Ravenclaws who take my things’?”

Salim hummed. “If I were a psychologist,” he started before Sirius interrupted him with, “You basically _are_ , Moony – you just don’t have a certificate.”

Salim sighed and rolled his eyes before looking back at Harry. “She is likely the type to see the best in people,” he explained. “She’s not going to want to believe that someone could be mean enough to take her things and hide them, so she’s come up with these fantasy creatures and their habits to explain it away. Assuming her brain works as her parents’ do, after some time she began to actually believe in these creatures’ existence.”

Harry was beginning to get a small inkling of what was going on, but he had to be sure. Carefully, he asked, “So, Nargles don’t actually exist. It’s actually her Housemates stealing and hiding her things?”

Sirius was the one to shrug this time. “Most likely,” he allowed. “But sometimes the Lovegoods have a tendency of being spot on about some things. You can never know for sure.”

“So, Caprice is being bullied,” Harry stated with a hissing sort of growl. Sirius and Remus straightened, suddenly realizing Harry’s questions were not made out of simple curiosity. Harry didn’t notice, continuing, “And it’s by her own Housemates! I’m gonna…”

“Harry, don’t do anything rash,” Remus cautioned. “You don’t want to do something you’ll regret later.”

Harry paused, a flare of guilt going through him at the subtle reminder of what he’d just recently done to Sully. He knew that Sirius had told Salim about it after they’d left the mirrors, but still he wished that he could’ve kept that incident to himself – even away from Sully. He was so ashamed about it that he didn’t want _anyone_ to know. At least he knew that his guardians weren’t going to go off and tell just anyone about what happened. He wouldn’t be surprised if they never actually directly brought it up again.

He shook himself from his musings, bringing himself back to the conversation and problem at hand.

“I don’t know exactly who is doing it,” he said, “Only that it’s a bunch of Ravenclaws. Probably her dorm mates, because they’ve been around her the most.”

“It would be best if you went to Professor Flitwick with this, and didn’t try and do anything to fix it yourself,” Salim told him.

Harry scowled. “But adults are _useless_!” he declared, echoing his words to Zuri just a few days before. “They haven’t done anything to stop the bullying going on as yet! Why would they start now?!”

“Alright, then how about you try going to Professor Flitwick,” Remus suggested, “Tell him what’s going on and who you believe is responsible. Then, if he indeed does nothing, you have our full permission to act in whatever way you feel is appropriate.”

Harry frowned to himself, before deciding that this probably was the wisest course of action at this point. If it came to it, he doubted he would do the same thing to Caprice’s perpetrators as he did to Sully, simply knowing how he had felt after dealing with the blond Slytherin, so he didn’t have to worry that he might cross the line into bullying.

“Alright,” he allowed. “I’ll tell Saghir first, but if he doesn’t do anything, there will be harsh consequences. I just want this bullying to stop. I had no idea it was so prevalent among human children – or that the human adults allowed it so much.”

Sirius glanced at Remus before looking back at Harry and saying, “Harry, it is of course very good of you to stop the bullying going on. Merlin knows where you’d be now if you hadn’t found out about Hermione being bullied. But, I have to ask – why _are_ you so vehemently against it?”

“Because it is wrong!” Harry insisted. “No one should be made to feel inferior, and I have to stop it where and when I can!”

“And that’s a good attitude to have,” Sirius agreed wholeheartedly. “But you left what you saw as your home and to an extent, your family…just so that you could go to Hogwarts and stop people from bullying Hermione. Most people against something don’t leave everything they’ve known in their life to stop it from happening. But you did. So – what happened that made you so against it, that you would take such drastic measures to stop it from happening to _one_ person?”

Harry understood the question now, and unbidden, memories sprang forth in his mind. Sirius’ words painted the picture in his mind that he remembered every time he saw someone being picked on and beaten down. He remembered the look of humiliation and helplessness in Zuri’s eyes after the donkey incident, and felt the pangs of sorrowed remembrance in his own mind – his feelings of the same things that she did.

After several long moments of silence, Harry finally found the strength to confess what he’d never told anyone – not even Sadi.

“When I first found Sueva, I was just a hatchling.” His voice cracked, and Sirius and Remus leaned in slightly at the mention of the snake Harry dearly loved though hardly talked about, knowing this was important.

“Well, I _thought_ I was a hatchling,” Harry amended. “I’m not really sure – I don’t really remember when I first became a snake. But I was a snake when I found Sueva. Snakes mature faster than humans, and since my size as a snake is comparable to my size as a human, I was very small. Then, since I was only one human year old, I had the mental capabilities of a snake who had just hatched. I suppose Sueva thought I would need help for just a season or so, to learn the ways of a snake – some hatchlings are like that, you see.

“But, I never _did_ actually leave her. Zuri thinks that my human instincts were there with the snake, and after that Halloween when Lily and James died, I was looking for a mother figure. Sueva was the one that I chose. That part of just looking for a mother figure is very odd for snakes – usually hatchlings have instincts immediately that allows them to survive in the forest. That I was looking for a mother was weird enough already for the other snakes in the den.”

“Wait,” Salim interrupted cautiously. “How were you able to stay with the other snakes? Boomslangs are cannibals anyway, and usually the males are the ones eaten. Why would Sueva defend you from the others?”

“It was never a problem,” Harry said with a helpless shrug. “I suppose it was another reason that contributed to my freakishness.”

“You are _not_ a freak, Harry,” Sirius said instantly. “It was probably just because some part of the other snakes recognized that you were an Animagus that prevented you from being eaten.” He suddenly grimaced to himself. “And I cannot _believe_ we’re actually discussing the possibility of your being eaten. Please continue.”

“Right,” Harry sighed. “Well, after a season or two had passed, I was getting old enough that I could recognize when the other snakes would spurn me away, talking about me without caring that I was there.”

He swallowed and said lowly, “They said nasty things. Sierra thought that I was mentally and physically handicapped because I used my head rather than my fangs to get out of my egg. She thought I would never be smart enough or big enough to make it on my own, should my ‘slug of a mother’ ever decide that I was more trouble than I was worth.

“Cecelia said, after she went blind, that she would always have more hunting prowess than I would, and it would’ve been better for _me_ to be attacked by that mongoose; at least then there would have been no great loss to the snake species.” He ignored his guardians’ protests at this, knowing that if he didn’t get it all out now, he never would.

Talking over his guardians, he said, “When Sadiqa said that I would never grow to be a real snake, I started trying to be better. My language skills had been choppy, so I began practicing to myself, when I was alone, so that I could speak and understand more clearly. I practiced moving quickly through the trees when none of the other snakes were there, so that I was living up to my name, and so that I could move that much faster on the easier ground below. I tried eating more, hunting more, so that I could be bigger, but it never happened. At least now I know _why_ I’m still smaller than Sadi when she was hatched only a few seasons ago.” His words were tinged with bitterness and sorrow.

“But after that, even with all that I tried, I was mentally older and on the same level as the other snakes, but I still wasn’t the right _physical_ size. So, even though they stopped whispering not-very-quietly about how I had damaged my brain when I hatched, they still talked about how small I was. Even though I was just as fast as them, they said I was too small for my species, and that I would never produce healthy hatchlings. Simin said she would be surprised if I was ever able to produce _any_ offspring, let alone healthy ones – not the least of which because no female snake would ever want a mate as small as me.”

He blinked quickly through the tears stinging at his eyes, grateful that Sirius and Salim remained silent while he pulled himself together enough to continue.

“After Sueva died, I saw no reason to go back to the other snakes in the den. They’d never _really_ accepted me, anyway – more like they tolerated me for Sueva’s sake. They liked her, because she was always best at noticing predators, since she was in a tree a lot. Having just Sadi with me, I was able to get away from all the others snakes’ bullying, and I decided that I would never go back to something like that. I didn’t want Sadi to be bullied, either – and even though _I_ can’t actually think of anything wrong with her that could be picked out, I’m sure the other snakes would be able to think of something to bitch about.

“Then, when I met Zuri, and found out what the other human children were putting her through…something just snapped. And I knew I needed to stop her bullies from being mean to her anymore.”

He sighed and looked down at his lap, whispering, “I didn’t think it would be this hard.” After a moment, he looked back up at Sirius and Remus and said strongly, “But I don’t regret it. I don’t want _anyone_ to feel how I did in those earlier years.”

“That’s very good of you, Harry,” Remus said quietly, appearing touched. Sirius, beside him, gazed at him proudly, though there was a small troubled look in his eyes that echoed itself in Remus’ as well.

“I’m not _trying_ to be ‘good’,” Harry sighed. “I just want everyone to realize that they’re important, whether they think so or not.”

…

After breakfast on Monday morning, Harry spent a quiet hour in History of Magic with Zuri and Xylon. He heard several Hufflepuffs talking about the surprise party from the night before, and smiled to himself, glad that people were being more accepting of his best friend now. He was glad that he was Sorted into Hufflepuff, where his Housemates were probably the least judgmental of all the Houses. He was certain that if he had been Sorted into Gryffindor like he’d wanted, Zuri wouldn’t have been accepted so readily by the others – not _truly_ accepted, anyway. Maybe they would’ve pretended. But the Hufflepuffs were genuine.

He did notice, however, that the redheaded boy was sending glares his way all through the class period. He wasn’t sure why – he hadn’t even spoken with him since the first night, at the Welcome Feast. There was no reason for Boipelo to be upset with him now, two weeks later.

The boy said nothing to him, however, leaving for Transfiguration as soon as the bell rang.

“I’ll see you at lunch, yeah?” Xylon said a trace uncertainly, lingering with Harry and Zuri while Seamus and Dean followed after Boipelo. Harry was glad that Xylon was gaining enough confidence to ask them more readily now – he’d been terribly shy since he’d met him. He was almost certain that a lot of that was due to Xylon’s first impression of him – but now he was past that and was getting over his generally shy feelings around people overall.

Harry gave him a warm smile. “Of course,” he agreed easily. “Save me a spot at the Gryffindor table – I’ll see you two there, after Charms.”

Before Charms class started, while the Hufflepuffs waited for the Slytherins to make the trek up from Herbology, Harry approached Saghir with some trepidation. He knew he should trust his guardians – that they were probably right that Saghir would do something about Luna’s situation – but still he worried that perhaps the small man would let him down just as all the other adults in the castle had. But then, he being small himself, he must be picked on sometimes as well, by the less educated of the students. The less educated might believe that he was weak simply because he was small, but Harry had seen his quick reflexes save one of the Slytherins from catching her hair on fire the week before. Size meant nothing, really, but some students might not know that. Surely Saghir must know what it felt like to be bullied and belittled – surely that would cause him to take a much more aggressive stance on it happening among his students.

“Saghir,” he said tentatively, and the short man turned to look up at him with a happy smile, by now recognizing his Harry-name.

“Harry!” he greeted cheerfully. “What can I do for you?”

“Do you know who Luna Lovegood is?” Harry started with.

“Of course! Little blond first year – I knew her mother.” Saghir elaborated. “Charming little girl. What about her?”

“People in her House are stealing her stuff,” Harry said, cutting right to the chase. “I think it’s her dorm mates. They keep taking her socks and shoes, so she’s going about with cold feet. They even took my shoes after I gave them to her a few days ago. She won’t say so, though – she just says the ‘Nargles’ like taking her things.”

“Then how do you know it’s other Ravenclaws that are taking her things?” Saghir said with a thoughtful frown. “Is it not a possibility that she simply misplaces her things, and then blames these – ‘Nargles’, I believe they were called?”

Harry’s face was cold. “No,” he said flatly. “They’re bullies taking her things and hiding them.”

“I heard the Ravenclaws started calling her ‘Loony’ Lovegood,” Megan offered up quietly from her spot closest to the front, where she had heard all that the two had said.

“I see,” Professor Flitwick stated, his eyes growing hard at the further provided evidence that what Harry said was true. “Thank you, Harry, for bringing this to my attention. I’ll deal with it as soon as I’m able.”

“Good,” Harry said. “But I should warn you that if you don’t do anything that will _stop_ the bullies, I’ll deal with it myself – according to _my_ rules.”

“Alright, Harry,” the short man said with a weary sigh, waving him off. “I’ll do my best, and pretend I didn’t just hear that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And since I’m almost to the 5000 word mark, I’ll stop there. Originally I did have a scene planned for right here, but I decided to push it off till after Halloween. Sorry. :)  
> Caprice – whimsical, impulsive  
> Sadiqa – truthful, sincere  
> Simin – silvery  
> Thanks for reading!


	29. Curious

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is basically my secondary posting site, so sometimes I don't remember to post the next chapter here until the day after I've posted it on FF.net. Oopsie. :)   
> Zesiro – Fred  
> Atsu – George  
> Boipelo – Ron  
> Siyamak – Snape  
> Caprice – Luna  
> Xylon – Neville

Harry didn't see Luna Lovegood again until later in the week. He had Sadi with him once more, and was idly chatting with her as he walked about before breakfast and before meeting with Zuri, when the blond girl walked up to him in the corridor. She was wearing her shoes again, which he noticed had garden gnomes painted on them.

"Hello, Harry Potter," she greeted pleasantly. "The Nargles saw fit to return my things last night. Do you like my shoes?"

"They're very different," Harry observed appreciatively. He liked difference – so did Sadi, as she hissed admiringly. "Did you paint the gnomes yourself?"

"I did!" Caprice said brightly. "Daddy didn't want to help this time, but he's very good at painting eyes. You should see the boots he has with Wibberfuls on the sides."

"Hm," Harry hummed in response, wondering what 'Wibberfuls' were.

"I brought your shoes back for you," Caprice said in remembrance, reaching into her book bag to pull out said shoes. "I thought you might like snakes painted on them, but I wasn't certain your guardians would think it a good idea to talk about snakes so much. You're supposed to be a secret, after all."

 _:I wish she would stop being so cryptic,:_ Sadi grumbled. _:Does she know you can turn into a snake, or not?:_

Harry didn't answer his sister, saying to Caprice, "If you'd like to, that would be great! Boomslangs are my favorite, of course."

"Should I paint females or males?" the blond agreed, putting the trainers back in her bag. "Green might show up better against the black than brown, but then people might understand. If it was just brown snakes, they would think it was a tribute to Sadi."

"I don't think they'll notice," Harry disagreed. "Most humans think that all snakes are either green or black. Maybe you could do both?"

"That would probably be best," the blond conceded. "I'll have them back to you in a few days." Then she trotted off down the corridor, soon disappearing out of sight.

 _:She knows too much,:_ Sadi hissed suspiciously. _:Even for how much we like her, she always seems to know things that most people don't.:_

 _:I wouldn't worry about it,:_ Harry said with a shrug. _:She's not the type to tell everyone – not in a way that they'll believe her, anyway.:_

 _:But if_ _ **she**_ _knows so much, she has to be getting her information from_ _ **somewhere**_ _,:_ Sadi argued. _:And that means that someone else we_ _ **don't**_ _know has to know about you and your abilities. Someone must be talking.:_

Harry began to understand what Sadi meant, and he felt suspicion and dread creeping up in him. _:But who could have told her? And why would they tell her, but keep it a secret from everyone else? The only people who know are Zuri, Sirius, Salim, Devon and Tracey…:_ he trailed off, unable to think of anyone else who might know.

 _:Siyamak probably knows, or at least suspects,:_ Sadi offered. _:But he would have no reason to tell Caprice, and not anyone else.:_

 _:But_ _ **do**_ _we know he told no one else?:_ Harry argued.

_:Not for sure. But I don't think Salim would leave that possibility to chance. If Salim thinks that Siyamak wouldn't tell, he wouldn't worry about using the magic to make him forget it.:_

_:So we just have to trust that Salim knew what he was doing when he went to talk to Siyamak,:_ Harry sighed.

 _:What about Tracey and Devon?:_ Sadi said abruptly. _:What if they told their brother, even in passing? Isn't he in Ravenclaw? He could've told Caprice.:_

 _:Caprice would've mentioned if she had a friend in her House, I'm sure – even in her weird symbol way. Still…:_ he sighed again. _:It can't hurt to check.:_

He had discovered, after a few days, where the Gryffindor Common Room was located, in case he ever needed to get to Zuri while she was up there. He'd had no reason, however, to look for the Ravenclaw Common Room. He knew that it wasn't close to the Gryffindor Common Room, but it was in a tower. He supposed that he could just keep climbing the stairs, and he would probably find it. He didn't know how he would get inside – he knew that each House had a different method of getting into their Common rooms – but he would worry about that after he'd got there.

However, it was on his way up the stairs that he crossed paths with the Weasley twins again. He hadn't spoken with them much since the incident with Zuri, but he was glad that at least now he knew they probably had little intention of harming him or anyone he cared about.

"Hello, snake boy!" the one with the scar – the one who he knew was Fred – greeted him first.

"And what are you up to on this fine morning?" the other continued with a welcoming grin.

"I need to find the Ravenclaw Common Room," Harry explained.

"The Ravenclaw Common Room!" Zesiro repeated with a chuckle. "Wanting to prank 'em? Heard they were on your shit list after they were picking on Luna."

"Wouldn't be surprised if you wanted to turn their faces orange," Atsu told him conspiratorially. "Lucky for you, a reliable source has informed us that just that is going to happen to the entirety of Ravenclaw at breakfast today!"

"No one messes with _our_ neighbor," both of them chorused.

"Even if she is a bit odd," Zesiro added.

"Tweaked," Atsu agreed.

"But still like a sister."

"Mm – more like a cousin," Atsu ammended.

"True. Haven't seen her for a couple of years now."

"Same age as Gin, though, so…"

"…What can you do?"

"No," Harry said, shaking his head in slight confusion, having gotten lost in what they were saying before they were halfway through. "I just need to find a boy in Ravenclaw. His name is Eddie Carmichael."

"He at the top of your shit list?" Atsu questioned.

"Seems oddly specific, that," Zesiro agreed with a nod.

Harry shook his head again. "What…? – No. I only want to talk to him. I know his older brother and sister – they're Muggles. He's in his Third Year."

"Ah, I see!" Zesiro commented, the metaphorical light bulb going off. "Well, my snakey friend, you're in luck."

"We can find him for you," Atsu chimed in, pulling out a piece of parchment. "The only payment we require is that you tell no one of what we're about to do."

"What…?" Harry started, but cut himself off when Zesiro pointed his wand at the folded piece of parchment.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," the twins chorused, and just like that, ink began to spread on the page, forming letters and drawings that Harry couldn't quite make out.

"This here is the secret to our success!" Atsu declared proudly.

"Found it in Filch's office our first year," Zesiro said smugly.

"'Course, why would he put a plain old piece of parchment in a drawer labeled 'Confiscated and Highly Dangerous'?"

"So it took a bit of working to get done, but finally the Marauders let us in on their secret map."

Atsu grinned. "In three years, Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs have taught us more than all the teachers in this school."

"Moony?" Harry repeated, interest suddenly piqued. "Padfoot?"

"Sure – that's their names," Zesiro said, while Atsu began searching on the map. "We figure the map must be a few decades old, with how worn down it is, but it still works like a charm. You can find anyone you want on it…"

"…Every minute," Atsu chimed in, still searching the map.

"…Of every day," Zesiro finished with a beaming smile.

"Found him!" Atsu suddenly exclaimed, then moved the map over so that Harry could see it, too. He tapped a finger over a banner just exiting the room labeled 'Ravenclaw Common Room'. "That makes it easy, that he's just leaving. Don't have to find a way to sneak inside again." He smirked, clearly thinking of a particular instance when they _did_ have to sneak into the Ravenclaw commons.

"Thank you," Harry remembered to say. "And Moony and Padfoot – that's Sirius and Salim, just so you know." Then he darted off in the direction of Ravenclaw Tower, leaving a suddenly shell-shocked Fred and George Weasley behind him.

…

"Are you Eddie?"

The dark-haired boy looked up from reading his book to find the famed Boy-Who-Lived in front of him, looking at him curiously. He wondered why the boy would come to seek him out – he knew that his older brother and sister had known Harry Potter for some time, but he didn't know why _he_ would be of any interest. Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, he nodded and stuck out his hand.

"Yeah," Eddie said, and after a moment, the younger boy seemed to remember something and shook his hand right before it was about to get awkward. "You're Harry Potter, right? Tracey and Devon said they'd met you."

"Yes," Harry said. "Did they tell you _everything_?"

"Probably not," Eddie said with a slight laugh. "But Tracey was obsessed with finding you for like, three years after that night in the forest. She didn't say much after she came and met you, though – just that you were fine now, and it makes more sense how you were able to get away without anyone finding you. She wouldn't say how, and neither would Devon, but I think it was accidental Apparition." He peered at him as though studying him. " _Was_ it Apparition that did it?"

"No," Harry said, realizing that the boy didn't know about his Animagus form. He spoke no further on the subject though, instead saying, "Do you know Luna Lovegood?"

The boy frowned that he clearly wasn't going to find out how Harry had gotten away four years previous, but he was clearly used to not being told everything due to being the youngest in his family, as he didn't push further for answers. He then turned thoughtful, trying to think if he knew this 'Luna Lovegood'.

"I don't think so," he said finally. "The name sounds familiar, though – is she a Ravenclaw?"

"Yes," Harry said as they began to walk. "She's in her first year. She's my friend."

"Well, what about her?" Eddie asked, not knowing where this was headed.

"She was being bullied by her Housemates since the beginning of the year, until Saghir – erm, Professor Flitwick – was able to stop it. But that doesn't mean she has any friends yet in her House."

Proving he was a Ravenclaw through and through, the older boy quickly deduced what Harry was getting at. "You want me to befriend her?"

Harry nodded. "And make sure she's not getting picked on again," he clarified. "I will, of course, do what I can, but since I'm in Hufflepuff, it's a lot harder. I can stop the bigger things like people stealing her stuff, but not as much with gossiping about her when she's not there."

"I'll try," Eddie accepted, anger stirring slightly within him at the news that his Housemates had been stealing a first years' things. "I'm not a huge fan of bullies, myself."

Indeed, Eddie had been bullied for his love of books and learning in the Muggle world quite frequently in elementary school. He had been glad to find out about a magical world where he could start anew, and was further grateful to be Sorted into a House where it was not only accepted that he do a lot of reading and studying, but almost _expected_. He could still enjoy reading and learning, but now he had friends with which to do it with. And those study sessions had quickly turned into real friendships – ones strong enough that he had spent a week every summer at his best friend Austin Guthrie's house, and then he at Eddie's house. The fact that they could use this time to see and study a lifestyle opposite of their own was simply a bonus.

Harry's face had darkened just slightly at Eddie's previous words. "Neither am I," he said, and Eddie could've sworn his voice became closer to a hiss for a moment there. Then he forced himself to brighten, and smiled at Eddie while lifting his arm.

"This is Sadi," he introduced the snake that until now had gone completely unnoticed under the sleeve of Harry's robe. "She's my sister."

"Hello, Sadi," Eddie greeted, hiding his uncertainty of how he was supposed to address the snake. "She _does_ understand me, right?"

Harry shrugged, dropping his arm as Sadi moved under the robe to curl around Harry's neck. Eddie could see the outline of her body moving through the robe sleeve before she appeared again under the boy's collar.

"Bits and pieces," Harry explained. "Enough to know what you're saying, even if it's not the exact words. She said hello to you back."

"Have you always known you could talk to snakes?" Eddie asked curiously, wanting to get inside the mind of the intriguing boy – as any Ravenclaw would, honestly.

"As far as I can remember," Harry said honestly. "Apparently I found the snakes in the forest right after I was dropped on the doorstep, so I was so young I can't remember it. My earliest memory is with the snakes." This was technically a lie, but Harry really didn't want to explain to a boy he'd met not ten minutes ago that his earliest memory was the night Voldemort had broken into his home and killed Lily and James. It was the only one he knew of before the snakes, anyway.

"Wait – dropped on a doorstep?" Eddie abruptly stopped walking. "Why?"

Harry scowled slightly. "Grímur – Dumbledore – took me away from Godric's Hollow that night and left me on the doorstep of my aunt and uncle's house in the middle of the night. Apparently I woke up and decided to find someone who would make sure I was warm."

Eddie was amazed by this – he had never imagined that the headmaster could be so…callous. He'd always thought the man projected the aura of a kindly grandfather. But there was no artifice in the famous boy – and he knew how to spot a lie. Harry Potter was telling no lies.

He pushed this to the back of his mind to think over and contemplate in more detail later – he couldn't think of the ramifications of it now, because it was time for breakfast and classes.

…

Severus Snape had been a spy for more than ten years. The fact that the Dark Lord had been gone for most of that time mattered little; he still kept his ear out to the other "past" Death Eaters to be sure that nothing was going on behind the scenes to bring them into another war. There was also always the possibility that a Death Eater might have found Lily's boy – the boy who brought down the Dark Lord – and decided to have some fun with him, knowing that most everyone in the Wizarding World has given up on finding him.

Therefore, part of being a spy meant that he had to remain friendly with several of the unsavory people who had thought it a terrific idea to take on the Dark Mark as a means of getting to torture and kill people while hiding behind their masks. Lucius Malfoy was at the top of the list of people he needed to remain "allies" with – he was by far the most influential of the Death Eaters. The fact that the vain man found his potions expertise useful to him was a bonus in keeping in his good graces. It had been this expertise that saw Lucius requesting Severus as Draco's godfather shortly before he was born. His reasoning was that there were many political and personal adversaries who would see the Malfoys dead, and he knew that Severus was knowledgeable enough that, should the worst happen, he would be able to keep his only son safe from these adversaries. Twelve years later, they weren't exactly friends of the sort who would go out drinking together, but they had developed a sort of camaraderie that saw them seeking each other out for advice and the like.

So, it came as no surprise when the blond man Floo-called him after classes one Friday afternoon, telling him to come through to his house; he'd explain after he was there.

Severus well understood Lucius' paranoia that Dumbledore might hear what he had to say – he had much the same uneasiness with the Headmaster's seeming omniscience. To someone who was firmly against Dumbledore on political, personal, and ideological levels, it had to be even worse.

So, without further question, he locked his doors (wouldn't do to have an angry twelve-year-old rushing in again while he was gone, after all) and stepped into the fireplace, throwing down the Floo powder and calling out his destination.

He stepped gracefully onto the expensive carpet in the Malfoy's parlor, immediately spying Lucius at the table, pouring a couple of fingers of Firewhiskey.

"Severus," Lucius greeted, walking over and offering one of the glasses to him. He was wearing a higher collar than normal – Severus suspected that it was to hide the bite mark the Potter boy had inflicted less than three weeks prior. Dumbledore had told him about it hours after it had happened – Severus was just surprised the arrogant man hadn't gone out for blood. But that had simply told him that he had either adopted a "wait and see" policy, or he was assembling information with which to strike the boy with unforeseen speed and precision and exactly where it would hurt most.

"Lucius," Severus greeted neutrally, suspecting what this was about but knowing not to ask – the blond would get to it eventually, after talking long enough to ensure no one could suspect he was worried about something dominating his thoughts, lest they find this as a bargaining chip to hold over him. This was of course the Slytherin way, though Lucius took the rule to a new extreme.

Sure enough, it was almost a half hour later when he finally got around to explaining what he had called Severus through for.

"Draco has told me about Harry Potter – he has made quite the impression on several of the students," Lucius said in a relaxed way, though there was a tense suspicion in his eyes that let Severus know he hadn't even come close to revealing his thoughts on the matter. But, at least now he knew that he had been right in his suspicions of what the main topic of this conversation would be.

So, living up to his spying role, he immediately scowled at Malfoy's words. "Yes, he's quite as arrogant as his _blessed_ father was," he sneered. "I don't have any idea how he could've been Sorted into Hufflepuff – he's the quintessential _Gryffindor_." This was clearly not meant as a compliment – if his words were a physical poison, they would've killed quicker than Basilisk venom.

Lucius was well aware of the animosity between the Head of Slytherin and the elder Potter, and it was this that caused him to believe in Snape's utter contempt for the Boy-Who-Lived, but today he didn't care about that.

"Our entire world of course knows by now he grew up in a forest," Lucius said. "Draco has told me there are some rumors in the castle that Potter was raised by the snakes. The snake he carries around his arm would lend some credence to the whispers."

Severus scoffed. "I have yet to find any sort of proof to these claims – Potter simply loves the attention the rumors bring him. There is of course another rumor that he will bite anyone who angers him – and this has led to rumors of him wanting people's blood like a common vampire. It's only a matter of time before there's a public outcry toward him."

This time it was Lucius who let out a scoff. "He's far from being a _common_ vampire – if, in fact, he _was_ one. His bite has venom that works not unlike a snake's."

Severus hummed passively, even as his mind worked furiously. "He may have been changed in that forest far beyond what most would recognize," he intoned. "No one knows all of the creatures in the Forbidden Forest – not even our _dear_ Headmaster." He sneered.

"And what is it that _you_ believe, Severus?" Lucius said mildly, taking a sip of his Firewhiskey. "Given how observant you are, I doubt you would have missed something odd about the boy."

Severus shifted slightly in his chair, stopping when he saw Lucius' eyes tracking the movement. He took a gulp of Firewhiskey before saying, "Potter received an owl order for two dozen Blood Pops from Honeydukes on Tuesday," he hedged.

Lucius nodded him along, hiding his impatience. "That is not all," he said. "What aren't you telling me?"

Severus stared at the last inch of alcohol in his glass for a long moment. Finally, he looked up at the blond man and said seriously, "This, of course, goes no further than this room."

"Of course," Lucius said immediately – doubtlessly lying through his teeth.

Severus leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees and loosely holding his glass in one hand. "A couple of weeks ago, Potter came rushing into my labs…"

…

Harry sat down at the breakfast table the last Monday in September, suckling his Blood Pop in his mouth and looking for bacon in the array of foods laid out. His eyes lit on some and he leaned over to grab the plate a little ways away.

"Honestly, Harry – candy before breakfast?" Zuri chided, spreading butter on her toast. "You'll spoil your appetite."

"Notghkin wull spoi' m'…" He cut himself off and pulled the lollipop out of his mouth. "It's hard to talk with food in your mouth," he said it as though it was a revelation, causing Hermione to sigh.

"That's because you're not _supposed_ to talk with food in your mouth," she said long-sufferingly.

Harry shrugged and continued what he'd been saying before. "Nothing will spoil my appetite, Zuri," he said, picking up a floppy piece of bacon. "I love food too much." As though to prove his point, he took a large bite of the bacon, still keeping a hold on the Blood Pop in his other hand.

"And here I thought you would never like _any_ candy because it's too sweet," Hermione said, taking a dainty bite of her toast. "You know the Blood Pops were supposed to be Sirius' idea of a joke."

"Well, obviously I didn't know that at the time," Harry said with another shrug. "I hadn't ever seen anything like it, and didn't even know how to open it till Anthony helped me. Then when I tasted it, it reminded me of the forest."

"At least it's not the human blood ones you like," Hermione acceded.

Harry wrinkled his nose in remembrance of the flavor of the human blood-flavored lollipops. "Those were _nasty_ ," he said expressively. "I like the gecko blood ones best, but the white mouse ones aren't bad, either."

Hermione sighed and shook her head, though she said nothing, only taking another bite of her toast.

A short time later, Neville came into the Great Hall, going to the Hufflepuff table and standing just behind and to the right of Harry.

"Hi, guys," he said with a shy smile. "D'you think I could sit here? Ron is in a bad mood this morning."

"Of course, Xylon," Harry said immediately. "You don't have to ask when you're among friends. Did Ron say something mean to you?"

Neville sat down next to Harry with a relieved smile. "Thanks," he said, and glanced over at the Gryffindor table, where the youngest Weasley boy was occasionally sending glares their way. Even Seamus and Dean gave the redhead his distance this morning, so as to stay out of the line of fire. "Sort of. I was talking about our History of Magic homework that's due today and he got upset – I guess he forgot to do it. When I started talking about you guys, he told me I'm a traitor to Gryffindor because I'm associating with a snake. I told him that last I checked, Hufflepuff's symbol was a badger, and ever since then he's been looking for a way to vent his anger."

"Let him be angry about it, Harry," Hermione advised, putting a hand on his arm when he made to get up as though to go over and confront him. "He can't actually do anything about the company his so-called 'friend' keeps."

"He can be stupid and decide to _try_ ," Harry said darkly, glaring in Boipelo's direction. Now though, the action was useless, because he was wholly focused on his food, eating with the worst manners Harry had ever seen – and he had seen animals eat in the forest. He wrinkled his nose in disgust and turned back to his own breakfast.

A moment after Harry turned around, Luna sat down across from him, appearing as though from nowhere. She had Sadi draped across her shoulders and the back of her neck, and looked totally comfortable with it.

"Hello, Harry," she greeted blithely, taking a peach from the fruit bowl.

"Hi, Caprice," Harry welcomed, mood instantly brightened at her appearance as well as his sister's.

"Why do you have Sadi with you?" Neville asked curiously, pouring milk over his cereal bowl.

"Sadi found me on her way back from hunting," Luna explained easily. "I supposed that it would be safer for her to get a ride with me than to try to go to the Great Hall on her own while all the other students are getting here." She took a bite of the peach.

 _:Tell Caprice that I say thank you,:_ Sadi told Harry, still resting comfortably on the little blond girl. Harry repeated what she'd said to Luna, and Luna responded with a cheerful smile to Sadi.

"Emeralda is looking for you," she said out of the blue a few minutes later when there was a lull in the conversation.

Harry and Hermione's heads both snapped up to look at her. "What?" they chorused, shocked. How could the first year know about the basilisk – let alone her name? The only people who knew were the two of them and Sadi, and they knew without asking each other that the other hadn't told Luna about her.

Luna merely nodded, as though she didn't notice their shock. "She keeps calling out for you, Harry."

"Who is Emeralda?" Neville asked, completely confused, but his question went unanswered as Harry continued to address the more immediate issue.

A suspicion weeded itself into his mind, and though he found it hard to believe, he couldn't just dismiss it out of hand. Suspiciously he asked, "Luna, are you a Parselmouth?"

Luna giggled, as though his tense posture and voice didn't bother her. "No, Harry," she said. "But I know how to tell if someone is looking for somebody. She sounds lost." Her voice had become distant by the time she finished speaking, but Harry didn't notice.

"Harry, if she's looking for you…" Hermione said lowly so only he could hear.

"Sex," he cursed, coming to the same realization that she had. He remembered telling Emeralda that if the boy came again to try and get her to kill someone, she should come to him and tell him. The only reason he could think that she would be looking for him would be if just that had happened.

Without another word, he ran from the Hall, in search of the King of Serpents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Emeralda is a female, but basilisks are known as the King of Serpents – not the queen, regardless of their gender. Even so, it bothers me just a bit, but I didn't want to keep saying "the basilisk".  
> Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! If all goes as I have it planned in my head, the next chapter will be great!  
> Grímur – "one who wears a mask" (one who is concealed)*  
> *Thank you, DeadLuck666 for this suggestion! Even though you suggested it in Chapter 16, I had planned on using it ever since then but never found a good spot for it. Now Grímur is his new name. :)  
> Thanks for reading!


	30. Opened

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zuri – Hermione  
> Xylon – Neville  
> Grímur – Dumbledore  
> Siyamak – Snape   
> Boipelo – Ron  
> Troi – Blaise

When Harry found Emeralda near the Hufflepuff Common Room, he was relieved to find out that she hadn’t been ordered to attack – but she did have more information about the boy. All that she could tell was that he was holding a book when he spoke, but trying to look at the boy’s face could accidentally kill the boy if he happened to look up into her eyes, so she tried to be as safe as possible and avoid it entirely. But it let Harry know that the book was somehow important. He couldn’t think of how, but surely if he was holding the book every time he spoke to her, it had something to do with how his voice apparently hadn’t aged at all in decades.

When he wondered aloud what the boy had been there for, if not to order an attack, she had answered that all the boy seemed intent on doing was planning. He hadn’t even wanted Emeralda’s help for it – when she offered, he said he could do it on his own, but the Chamber helped him think better. All Emeralda had been able to catch from what he said were the words, “bloody Potter”, “Ravenclaw”, and “buck-tooth”. Neither of them had any clue what that might mean.

After reassuring him that she could be hungry for a little longer – that the welfare of the students was more important – they bid each other farewell and she traveled back through the pipes to get back to the Chamber.

Pensively thinking over what Emeralda had told him, he made his way to History of Magic, where Zuri and Xylon were waiting for him.

“What happened?” Hermione asked anxiously. “What did she say?”

“There’s nothing to worry about,” Harry said, still turning over her words in his head. “Just some more information.”

“ _Who_ is this ‘Emeralda’?” Neville sighed, asking in a way that it was clear that he didn’t really expect an answer. “I don’t know any Emeraldas that go to school here, so I have no _idea_ who you’re talking about.”

Harry looked up as several Gryffindors appeared down the hall, coming toward the classroom they stood just outside of.

“I’ll tell you during class,” he muttered so no one else would hear, and entered the room quickly. Hermione and Neville followed right behind him, sitting on either side of him in the back row. They were all silent as the students began filtering in, as Harry clearly decided to wait until most students would be asleep during Binns’ lecture.

Fifteen minutes later, they were the only ones in their area of the classroom still awake, so Harry leaned over to Neville and told him just what was going on with the basilisk situation. Hermione occasionally chimed in with her own comments, and though Neville was clearly alarmed, he took their words as gospel and agreed not to tell anyone – not even a teacher.

“And don’t look into Grímur’s eyes – Salim said he was a Lego man,” Harry finished in a whisper. “Siyamak, too.”

“Legilimens, Harry,” Hermione corrected swiftly, and explained at Neville’s lost look, “It means that they can see your thoughts and memories if they look into your eyes.”

Neville’s eyes widened at that, thinking inwardly of how grateful he was that he was too nervous to look into Professor Snape’s eyes. He would have to remember not to look the Headmaster in the eye, though he had always felt that Professor Dumbledore was like a grandpa sort of figure. At least, that was the aura he projected. But after Harry had explained that the name he’d given him was one that meant he “wore a mask”, he had been a bit leery of the old man. Although Harry was by far the oddest person he’d ever met, and somehow couldn’t understand some of the simplest of human things, he still had wickedly sharp instincts. So, because Harry was leery of the Headmaster, it translated that Neville would be, too. Just to be safe.

And now there was the news that the man could read his thoughts simply by looking into his eyes. Knowing that, he couldn’t think of a single reason _not_ to distrust him. Of course there was still the possibility that Harry was wrong, but his doubts about the odd boy were gradually dwindling to nothing.

Neville assured them that he would keep quiet about this, and not look Dumbledore or Snape in the eyes, and then turned to himself to think over what he’d been told. Harry Potter certainly had a talent for shocking people.

…

The month of October passed quickly and uneventfully. Hermione continued to try and convince Harry to tell at least Sirius and Remus about the basilisk and what was going on, but Harry continually refused. He knew that they would feel a duty to tell people – like Dumbledore – about it, but Hermione seemed to believe otherwise. She thought they would be trustworthy, and it would ease her conscience about keeping it a secret from adults. She also argued that it would be better to bounce ideas off of an adult who knew more about magic than they did, but Harry came right back with the argument that Neville knew enough that they could talk to him.

And they did talk to him. But it didn’t do much good, because they didn’t exactly have a lot to go on in figuring out who the culprit was.

Neville volunteered the idea that perhaps it was Draco Malfoy with the black book, seeing as he was the most vocal about blood superiority, but Harry disagreed. He was certain that the blond didn’t have enough of a spine to go against the entire school and try to kill so many people, even with some sort of outward influence. Though he _had_ noticed that the boy watched him a lot more frequently now – and not just with fear, but sometimes with speculation and calculation.

Now that they were watching out for any signs of the black book, Harry noticed a few more people regularly watching him. Grímur was one of them, and it made him want to bite the old man’s eyes out. He didn’t know why he was watching him so often, but when Harry noticed him, he tried to leave the area as quickly as he could without it being obvious. He didn’t want to tip the man off to his fear of him – though he quietly admitted to himself that the man probably already knew. Still, the old man’s gaze was just a bit too predatory for him to feel comfortable around him.

It was Sadi who noticed Siyamak watching him, however. It wasn’t so obvious that anyone else noticed – even Hermione and Neville – but it was enough for his sister…and, when she told him, to him.

He wasn’t sure what to make of the dark-eyed man’s expressions, though. Sometimes he might’ve said he was sad, but other times he seemed downright angry. The most prominent that he noticed however, was a studying sort of look – like he was trying to figure him out. It made Harry very uneasy, no matter what Salim might have told him about how he was unlikely to hurt him. After all, unlikely meant that there was still some sort of likelihood there, however small.

He did have to admit though, that the man had let up on his tormenting in class. It wasn’t so noticeable to the other students in class, but at least he wasn’t having them make potions with snake parts anymore. It was as though the incident had never happened. For some reason, Harry got the feeling that the incident had been some sort of test – but of what, he had no idea. In any case, he always made sure that Sadi was with Zuri or Xylon while he was in Potions. He didn’t want to risk anything happening to his sister.

One effect of leaving Sadi with Xylon, however, was that Xylon was a Gryffindor, and therefore had all his classes with all the other Gryffindors in their year. This meant that he had Sadi with him when he was close to Boipelo, and when Harry wasn’t there, he had no problem making his disgusted opinion with him and his “pet snake” known. When Harry found out about it, he was all set to go and beat the redhead into the ground for his derogatory comments toward his friends and his sister, but the combined efforts of Sadi, Xylon, and Zuri, convinced him otherwise. He made no effort to hide his glares from the boy when he saw him, though – and that seemed like enough to shut him up while he was there.

His friendship with Troi was growing as well, something he was very happy about. The curly-haired boy didn’t seem as hesitant to acknowledge him in the company of other Slytherins anymore, even if he wasn’t exuberant about it. Harry just understood that it had something to do with “Slytherin politics”, even if he still didn’t quite understand what those were. Troi was still happy to pair with him in the classes they had together, explaining that even for how naïve he was about some things, he was wicked smart with some of the subjects. Charms seemed to come naturally to him, though his skill in Transfiguration was nothing to sneeze at, either. He was certainly better at it than several of the other Slytherin second years.

He’d mentioned Troi’s words in passing one night to Sirius and Salim when he was talking to them through the mirror. Salim commented that it was likely because magic was just as new to him as everything else about humans, so it was another thing he just accepted as new and tried to learn. The others saw magic as the thing to get used to, but they hadn’t spent the past year trying to adapt to several things at once. Now that Harry had learned most human things, his focus was on learning magic – and he was putting forth the same amount of effort he had the past year when he learned human things _and_ magic. The extra effort meant that it came to Harry more easily than most.

…

The morning of Halloween, Harry awoke to the smell of pumpkin and spices, making him gag. It was much too sweet to enjoy, and when he left the Hufflepuff Common Room, it only got stronger, almost convincing him to go right back into the dorms. He persevered though, knowing that Zuri would want to see him this morning. She seemed to think that he would break down at any second, because his human parents had been killed this night eleven years ago.

Of course, he _was_ a bit sad about it – but not as much as Zuri seemed to think he should be. He wished he’d known more about them – even Sirius and Salim’s stories couldn’t fill that hole completely. But he had seen death before, and he knew how to move on.

That was another thing that Sirius and Salim had helped him with – moving on from death. Before coming to live with them, he’d still been bitter about the hawk attacking and killing Sueva. But it had been seeing how his guardians had moved past their friends’ deaths that allowed him to emulate their example in regards to Sueva. They had been sad, and sometimes angry and resentful, but they would remember times with James and Lily when they were alive with fond smiles and bittersweet tears. Harry had seen how they were grieved at their deaths, but they also didn’t let it paralyze them. They had also commented that knowing that Harry was alive helped them tremendously, even when they didn’t know where he was. The fact that he had been saved thanks to their sacrifice was enough to be grateful for.

Harry had seen all of this and taken all of this in, and unconsciously began emulating the same actions in regards to Sueva and Sadi. It was easy to see the parallels. And, while Harry didn’t talk about Sueva as much as his guardians talked about James and Lily, as he was a more private person in that regard, he did eventually begin to heal as he talked about Sadi’s mother more often than the brief mentions in the past.

And, after he’d finally begun to miss James and Lily, wondering how his life might have been with them in his life, he already trusted and loved Sirius and Salim enough that he could go to them for comfort as well as more stories to ease the ache inside.

So, he wasn’t as sad as he might have been under different circumstances. He understood that dying was a way of life, and that even though James and Lily died early in life, they had died when they needed to, and for something good that they believed in. He hoped that when _he_ died, he would die doing something just as meaningful.

He was shaken from his serious thoughts when Zuri came down the stairs toward him. She engulfed him in a warm hug, chattering away about classes and homework and everything but the date and what it meant.

This pattern continued for several hours through the day, before she was finally satisfied that Harry wasn’t going to burst into tears on her shoulder. After that she acted mostly normally, with the exception of the occasional glance of concern sent his way. Unfortunately there was no distraction of classes, as it was Saturday, so Harry did his best to ignore it. He simply sighed and pushed through it, following her example and acting like nothing was wrong.

And on that note, he realized that something _did_ feel wrong – just not what his best friend seemed to expect. There was something in the air – something dark that he could taste. He knew he wasn’t imagining it, though – Sadi could sense it too, and kept nervously flicking her tongue out to taste the air every other minute. He said nothing to Hermione though, knowing that she would suspect that it was something to do with James and Lily and his grief at their deaths. He had no way of convincing her otherwise, and no proof whatsoever that something was indeed wrong, so he simply made small comments about it in Parseltongue to Sadi every now and then.

As the Feast that night approached, Harry felt his apprehension grow. He had taken Sadi from Zuri’s neck, lest she realize that Sadi was growing agitated, and he could feel her shifting uneasily on his own neck as they walked down the corridor to the Hufflepuff Common Room. They would spend a couple of hours in there before going on to the Feast, which Harry was not looking forward to purely due to the smell that continued to assault him. He was sure that it would be much stronger where the food sat.

Sighing, he began to color in one of his many coloring books (which Salim had needed to send more of last week, as his others were all full) at one of the tables. Sadi coiled herself tightly next to him, and Zuri sent the two of them a concerned glance as she pulled out her own piece of parchment to finish her Herbology essay.

“What’s got you guys so glum?” Zacharias Smith’s cheerful voice intruded as he sat down across from them. “Aren’tcha excited for the Feast tonight?”

“No,” Harry said, looking up from his coloring book with a wrinkled nose. “It’s smelly. Too sweet.”

“Too sweet?” Zacharias repeated. “Mate, that’s what the Halloween Feast is all about! To eat yourself sick on desserts while your parents can say nothing about it! Or, guardians, anyway,” he amended, suddenly remembering the circumstances of Harry’s own parents.

“I don’t like sweets,” Harry interjected before he could continue. “They make me feel icky.”

Hermione hummed and told Zacharias, “He doesn’t even like fruit because it’s too sweet for him. He likes saltier foods better.”

Zacharias shook his head disbelievingly. “Crazy, mate,” he said frankly. “But anyway, there’s other food there, too – healthy food and shite. It _is_ still a dinner, after all. Just…more pumpkins than usual.”

“I don’t know if I’ll be there for too long, anyway,” Harry told him, absentmindedly tapping his crayon against the table. “Even just the smell…” He shuddered with disgust. “Just smelling it from in here is enough to shake my stomach.”

“Well, I’ll probably be in too much of a food coma to notice much, anyway,” Zacharias decided. “Madam Pomfrey always has dozens of stomach soother potions at the front of her cabinet at the feasts – I’ll definitely need them again this year!” With a laugh, he bid them farewell with a wave of his hand, going over to talk with Wayne.

“Harry, we really don’t have to go to the Feast if it bothers you that much,” Zuri told him as soon as Zacharias had left.

“I’m sure I’ll be okay,” he easily dismissed. “Like he said, there will be other food there, and we’ll be hungry if we don’t eat.”

His friend looked conflicted, so he smiled crookedly at her, easily guessing what was on her mind. “I’m _okay_ , Zuri,” he finally spoke to get rid of the uncertainty that had been shrouding the two of them all day. “I’m sad, but I’m not dwelling on it. I hardly remember them.”

“But they were your _parents_ ,” Zuri insisted sadly. “It just seems so wrong that everyone else is celebrating when this is the anniversary of the night your life completely changed.”

“And what if they hadn’t died?” Harry mused. “What if they lived, but Voldemort never died, either? Would I have a life much better? Or would Sirius or Salim maybe have died? Or, since you’re a muggleborn, maybe he would’ve targeted you and your family. Maybe you would just be another name on a list of deaths by Voldemort’s side. What if I hadn’t lived with the snakes, or you hadn’t been in the Hospital Wing that day I was planning on escaping as soon as I was able? Maybe I would’ve had a normal life, raised by human parents and had a pet crup and a little brother or sister. Maybe I wouldn’t have Sadi as a little sister, and I might have been one of those humans Sueva warned me about, who likes hurting snakes. Maybe Sueva wouldn’t have died in the first place, because she wouldn’t be trying to defend me just as James and Lily did before. Maybe I never would’ve met you. Maybe, if I hadn’t had the experiences I did, I would be right next to Boipelo in bullying you and anyone else in my line of sight. Maybe we would never have become best friends.” He finally looked at her to see tears pooling in her eyes. He grasped one of her hands in his, stroking Sadi’s head with the other.

“It’s sad that they’re dead, Zuri,” he conceded. “But even after that, I can’t say I’m unhappy with how the rest of my life turned out. Having Sirius and Salim as my parents is wonderful, I couldn’t ask for a better sister in Sadi, and having you as my very best and most important friend is something I couldn’t have imagined in the lonely early days as a snake. So I can’t bring myself to be as sad as Sirius and Salim are today.”

Hermione said nothing, but threw her arms around Harry’s neck, letting her actions speak for themselves.

…

Tom was nothing short of ecstatic. To finally be written in after fifty years was…exhilarating. Freeing. He didn’t care who it was that would write in his diary – he was sure that he would be able to sway even the strongest soul. He wasn’t a Slytherin for nothing, and Slytherins were known for their powers of persuasion – even to the point that someone unaware wouldn’t even suspect that they were being persuaded.

Not that it had really been much of a challenge, he scoffed. The one to write on his pages had been so quickly and easily ensnared that it was almost disappointing. It was much too easy – after fifty years, he would’ve hoped for a bit more of a challenge. Something that might have given him some interest after fifty years of boring nothingness.

Of course, it hadn’t felt like _exactly_ fifty years – time passed differently in the diary. Still, it was enough time that he had gotten immensely bored, and begun to plot.

Perhaps that was the reason it was so sickeningly easy to ensnare the child. Of course, no mind could resist against the powers of Lord Voldemort for long, but still the child could have at least _attempted_ to be more prepared against the assault to his soul.

Ah, well. The child would be useful, anyway. He guessed a few months from now, he would have a body. Then he could find that little snot of a child who thought he could defeat _him_ as a baby. Harry Potter would die by his hand before the school year was out.

But first, he would hit him where it hurt the most.

And do a little housekeeping while he was at it.

He reached out with his mental powers, touching the child’s soul and convincing them to pick up the diary – to start writing again.

 _Hello, Tom_ – he could feel as the child wrote, hearing the voice in his mind rather than actually seeing a physical thing – and it was with those two words that he was able to slip into the foolish child’s body, increasing his grip on the pure soul as it began to nourish his own.

He blinked open his eyes – the child’s eyes – seeing everything as though through a film, with a slight blur.

But it was enough to do what he needed.

He looked down the corridor, stowing the diary in his robe pocket. Everyone was moving toward the Great Hall for the Halloween Feast. Anyone noticing a child gone would suppose they were homesick – no one would be bothering him.

His lips curved into a very un-childlike manner.

_Perfect._

…

Harry was only at the Feast for a few minutes, just enough to eat some semblance of dinner, before he thought he might be sick at the smell. Slightly choking at the scents of all the sweet foods, he told Zuri he couldn’t handle the smell anymore. With concern, she tried to get up to come with him, but he told her to keep eating with Xylon. She hadn’t eaten enough, and he didn’t want her hungry on account of him. Reluctantly, she sat back down, and he quickly made his way out of the Great Hall.

Gagging, he made his way to the nearest bathroom, turning on the faucet and splashing cold water into his face. Breathing deeply, the smell was only faint now, and the cool water was making his stomach settle easier.

 _Why do I have such an adverse reaction to sweet things?_ He wondered as he leaned on his hands over the sink. _I **am** human – even just in the form of one, why do I have the same reactions in human form as I do in snake? No one else has trouble eating fruit – most people prefer fruit to vegetables, even. So why am I so different?_

Shaking his head, he straightened, supposing he would never get an answer to some things.

 _Just another mystery to add to my whole snake-human situation,_ he thought with a sigh, leaving the bathroom and walking down the corridor. He had no intention of going back to the Great Hall, and the Hufflepuff Common Room was too close to it for him to hope he wouldn’t smell it from there.

So, he made his way up the stairs, wandering aimlessly about. He chatted with a couple of nearby portraits, many of whom wondered why he wasn’t at the Feast. He explained simply by saying that he didn’t like pumpkins or the smell of them, and on Halloween it was particularly strong. It was true, but not the whole story. He didn’t really care for the countless questions that would follow if he told more than that. He wished he could talk to Sadi, but she had gone to the forest earlier, not wanting to deal with the awful smells from the Feast for any longer. He understood. He was contemplating making a trip soon into what was once his home as well.

The Feast was probably almost over when he was making his way down a corridor on the second floor. He was considering going back down to the first floor when the hairs on the back of his neck rose in warning. Glancing around quickly and tasting the air, he knew that no one was lying in wait to attack him – but something was definitely wrong.

He quickened his pace just slightly, walking down the corridor, and the feeling of danger increased with every step.

Abruptly he came to a halt, coming upon the last scene he might have expected – a scene that turned his stomach in much the same way the sweet foods had an hour or so beforehand.

As he stared at the scene in front of him, he distantly noted the sound of several pairs of feet making their way toward the corridor. It seemed as though the whole school was coming to see, though of course he knew logically that they were just making their way back from the Feast to their dorms.

The chattering slowed to a stop as they all saw the same thing. Mrs. Norris, the cat who belonged to Mr. Filch, was strung up on the wall. Next to her were the bloody words –

_The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened_

_Enemies of the Heir, Beware_

And in front of it all was the odd boy everyone knew about – looking very, very guilty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so in last chapter’s author’s note, I said this one would be pretty great, but I’ll admit that it was pretty slow. And short. The scene I was thinking of should be next chapter.  
> Thanks for reading!


	31. Bathroom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to anyone who doesn’t feel there’s enough action…if all goes as I have planned in my head, from here on out just about every chapter will be quicker. Who knows, though? I might come up with an innocent little fluff piece that I just add in the middle here. I dunno. Guess we’ll see – but thank you to everyone who is still with me!  
> Zuri – Hermione  
> Grímur – Dumbledore  
> Siyamak – Snape  
> Xylon – Neville   
> Shamora – McGonagall  
> Volker – Madam Pomfrey  
> Troi – Blaise   
> Pirros – Fred and George  
> Saghir – Flitwick

There was a dull roar in Harry’s ears as he tried to comprehend the message – and indeed, what, exactly, was going on. Why was that cat so still? Was it dead? But who would kill a cat? It wasn’t even bloody – so how did it die? And why were those words written on the wall? Who was “the heir”? And who were the heir’s enemies?

With so many questions swirling in his head, it was no wonder he hardly noticed the dark mutterings of the other students, or the Gryffindors closest to him that were backing away as though he would suddenly turn on them.

He finally snapped out of it when the smelly caretaker began screaming and shrieking at him for killing his cat, and Zuri’s hand grabbed tightly onto his to prevent him from leaping defensively at the man.

“You’ve murdered my cat!” he screamed at him. “You’ve killed her! I’ll kill you!”

“ _Argus!_ ”

Dumbledore approached with what Harry felt was a posse of teachers behind him, and he had to fight the instinctive hiss threatening to escape his lips.

He and Hermione were directed to follow the old man, while the other students were told to go back to their dorms. Harry followed reluctantly, simultaneously nervous and relieved when Zuri came with him. Then he noticed Xylon following, too.

“Longbottom, I believe you were told to follow the rest of your Gryffindor friends back to the dorms,” Siyamak instructed him coldly when he noticed the second Gryffindor follow them into Lockhart’s office.

“I-I’m staying with Harry,” Neville said with only a slight stutter, though utterly sure he wouldn’t abandon his friend. “He didn’t do this.”

The dark-eyed man gave Neville a sneer, but after a quick glance at Harry – which only Harry seemed to notice – he turned and ignored the chubby boy, dropping the matter entirely.

Harry narrowed his eyes at the man. Just what was he up to? He wasn’t acting normal – not as mean as he normally was. But, rather than being assuring, it only made him more suspicious.

Filch’s voice broke through his musings as he once again shouted at Harry. “You killed my cat!” he screeched again, though this time his anger was accompanied by loud sobs, even as Grímur continued to examine the cat laying under him on the desk.

“Don’t be stupid!” Harry shot back, finally finding his voice. “ _Why_ would I kill your cat? It’s not a threat to me, and it never _has_ been! If I were to kill someone, it would be a _real_ threat – like _you_!”

The man was so shocked that the twelve-year-old had threatened him – and in front of so many teachers, too – that he was struck dumb. Only Hermione didn’t have that problem, and hissed a warning, “Harry!” at him under her breath, though of course in the silent room they all heard.

“What?” Harry demanded in confusion, not knowing why what he’d said was so horrible, but several of the teachers were staring at him in shock. “It’s true! He’s the one who said he would kill _me_ first – why should I sit back and let that happen? Didn’t you say that the adults aren’t supposed to be a threat to the students? Well, his rage and completely nonsensical ideas that I would even _bother_ killing a cat that has always been afraid of _me_ makes _him_ a threat!”

“Nevertheless,” Grímur interjected smoothly, rising to his feet before anyone else could speak, “Mrs. Norris is not dead, Argus.”

“Not dead?” Filch choked. “But why’s she all – all stiff and frozen?”

“She has been Petrified,” the Headmaster said blandly. “But how, I cannot say…”

“Ask _him_!” Filch shrieked, his rage suddenly coming back tenfold as he stabbed his finger in Harry’s direction. “He did it, he did it!”

“If I might speak, Headmaster,” Siyamak said from the shadows of the room, “Potter may have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Harry’s eyes narrowed further at the dour man. He would almost believe that Siyamak was – _defending_ him. But he knew that the professor hated him, so there would be no reason to do so – not unless…

_Of course._

He wanted something from him. Or he wanted him to drop his guard around him. Probably both. And if he was trying to get on his good side by defending him from Grímur, well…it had to be something quite bad that he wanted from him. Or _of_ him. And it might have worked, if Siyamak hadn’t already placed himself at the top of his “shit list” (as Sirius called it) with his actions in the past. Harry already knew how dangerous Siyamak was – putting up a rather weak defense in front of the headmaster wasn’t doing anything for his cause; it only put Harry on his guard.

“Quite right, Severus,” Grímur responded calmly, unaware of Harry’s inner turmoil of suspicious thoughts. “No second-year could have done this. It would take Dark Magic of the most advanced degree, and Harry is far too young to have come across enough thus far to have been able to Petrify Mrs. Norris.”

“My cat has been Petrified!” Filch shrieked with rage. “I want to see some _punishment_!”

“Innocent until proven guilty, Argus,” the Headmaster said firmly – just firmly enough that Harry’s suspicions for _his_ defense of him grew as well. He was starting to feel quite trapped in the room with so many Professors who knew so much more magic than him, and were so much bigger than him. They were dangerous, and he was prey.

“I am quite curious to know why you left the Feast so early, Mr. Potter,” Professor McGonagall interjected smoothly. If Harry hadn’t been feeling quite so panicked, he might have realized that the Gryffindor Head was looking at him with concern and curiosity – not suspicion. But his breathing was just a touch too fast, and he wasn’t thinking too clearly at the moment.

Luckily, Hermione piped up in his defense, “There was lots of sugar and sweets there, and the smell was making Harry feel nauseated. The second floor is far enough away from the Great Hall that he couldn’t smell it so strongly. If he’d simply gone to his dorm, he still would’ve smelled everything, with the Hufflepuff commons being right next to the kitchen.”

“I see,” the professor said. “Mr. Potter, I hope you got enough to eat before leaving. We wouldn’t want you going hungry because you were feeling a bit sick to your stomach. Madam Pomfrey has stomach soothing potions, if you ever encounter this problem again.”

In Harry’s nervous and slightly panicked state, what Shamora had meant as a suggestion to try to feel better he saw as a threat to take him to Volker again. He startled when he felt a hand touch his arm, but looking he could see that it was just Xylon, giving him an encouraging look meant to calm him through his panic.

However, before he could say anything that would let on to the professors that he was even remotely afraid, Filch spoke up again, clearly upset at having been ignored for that brief period of time McGonagall asked about Harry’s whereabouts.

“What about my _cat_?!” he screeched. Harry took an involuntary step back.

“We will be able to cure her, Argus,” Grímur patiently told the screaming man. “Professor Sprout recently managed to procure some Mandrakes…”

Harry heard no more. It was too much for him, even with Zuri and Xylon there as support, he knew that the professors were the greater threat. Not knowing why Grímur and Siyamak were defending him made him uneasy, and eventually he had to get away or have a panic attack in front of all of them, making him vulnerable to their every wish.

While the other professors were listening to Grímur assure them of Mrs. Norris’ eventual consciousness, he took the opportunity their distraction provided, and turned to the door, yanking it open and running down the hall with all the speed he possessed.

…

After running from the room, Harry had been planning to go to his dorm and call Sirius and Salim. He wasn’t so sure what they could do, but he wanted them to say something that would assure him that everything would be okay. He wanted them to tell him why Grímur and Siyamak were acting so strangely, so that he could know how to react in the future when he saw them and they were still acting oddly. He wanted to feel _safe_ , and the only way he could think was if he talked with them.

However, if he wanted to get back to his dorm, he would’ve had to pass the writing on the wall, and he was uneasy with that idea, because the whole corridor reeked of the blood used to write the words*, and he really didn’t want to step in the middle of it, where the stench would be the strongest.

However, he also really didn’t know a back way to get to the Hufflepuff commons, so before coming upon the scene, he abruptly stopped and turned to the nearest door, running inside rather than going further down the corridor.

He knew instantly that he was in a bathroom, though he suspected that it was a girl’s bathroom – this one didn’t have the additional odd-looking toilets that the ones in the boys’ dorms did that were only meant for urinating. But it also looked unused and dirty, so he suspected that no girl was going to come in upset with him for being there, so he really didn’t care.

Giving a deep sigh and fighting back tears of frustration, he leaned against the wall between a couple of the sinks and let himself slowly sink to the ground. He clutched his knees to his chest, burying his face in his robes and trying to take deep breaths to calm himself down. A couple of tears squeezed from his eyes, despite his efforts to hold them back.

“I cry a lot in here, too.”

Harry’s head shot up in surprise at the sound of the voice, not having heard anyone come in and having thought he was alone. He winced when his head hit the side of one of the sinks, before his eyes rested on a girl with brown pigtails and glasses, sitting on the floor in front of him. She was wearing Hogwarts robes, and he would’ve thought she was a student were it not for the slight glow around her semi-transparent body. Her appearance could only mean she was a ghost.

“Why do _you_ cry?” he blurted before he could think about what he was saying.

The girl’s face rested in a scowl. “Oh, because I’m a ghost, I have no reason to _cry_?” she wailed. “I should think that I have _more_ reason to cry because of _that_ unforgotten fact!”

“That’s not what I meant,” Harry said confusedly, wondering where she’d gotten _that_ idea. “Sirius and Salim said that talking about why you’re sad makes you feel better, so I thought you might like to tell me. So you can be happy again.”

The girl was silent now, peering at him closely as though trying to determine whether or not he was lying. Apparently having found what she was looking for, she let a deep, mournful sigh and said, “I’ve been dead for so long, but no one likes me. Not even the other ghosts want to talk to me. Students like to come in here and make fun of me, and throw books at me like it’s _sport_!” She looked a strange cross of angry and miserably sad as she said this.

Abruptly she looked up at him with a smile. “But _you_ won’t throw books at me, will you? You’re much too nice for that.”

“Of course I wouldn’t,” Harry said, reality feeling surreal at the moment with the odd girl’s words. “I wouldn’t want someone throwing books at me, even if I couldn’t feel it. I’d still feel attacked.”

“No one liked me when I was alive, either,” the girl confessed sadly, then sneered mockingly. “Ugly Myrtle, with pimples and pigtails and glasses – she’ll _never_ fit in with all the _real_ witches and wizards. No, she’s just stupid, moping, moaning, Mudblood Myrtle!”

“But you’re _not_ ugly!” Harry protested. “And you’re not stupid, either!”

“Olive Hornby certainly didn’t think so, and she loved to tell me so all the time, too!” Myrtle – for that was her name, he supposed – said nastily. “She was the worst of the lot. So when she was teasing me about my glasses again, I came here to hide – and of course, I _died_!”

“But why didn’t you pass on, then?” Harry wondered. “If you were so sad here, why didn’t you go to the happy place Sirius and Salim told me people go to when they die?”

“Well, I couldn’t let Olive Hornby get away with it!” she protested in what was almost a shriek. “Or the rest of the _nasty_ people who liked making fun of me. I was determined to haunt them _all_! Oh, they were sorry that they _ever_ laughed at me!” She sniffed, and somehow, her expression became all the more tortured. “And of course when I died, it had to be _that_ week of the month!” she wailed. “Now I’m stuck in _eternal PMS_!” With a squeal, she dove away from him, and straight into the toilet, causing water to splash to the ground. He heard her wailing sobs as they slowly faded away the further she got through the pipes.

Harry sat there, stunned at Myrtle’s words, while he vaguely wondered what “PMS” was and what she meant by “ _that_ week of the month”. But, he reasoned with himself, at least he wasn’t so panicked anymore – his heart rate was normal, and he didn’t feel like crying so much. He supposed that trying to help other people stop being sad helped him, too.

He was startled by a sudden pop to his right, and he looked up quickly, not having realized he had put his head on his knees again, and once more hit his head against the bottom of the sink.

“Harry Silas Potter Sir!” a high voice squeaked.

Cringing and rubbing the lump that must surely have begun growing on his head, Harry began to wonder if this bathroom was indeed as unused as it first appeared to be. He suspected he would’ve gotten more privacy if he’d just gone to the bloody dorms.

“Yes, what is it?” Harry said automatically, searching with his eyes for the source of the voice. He saw an odd creature in front of him – a short creature that looked sort of like one of those goblins he had seen when he’d gone to Gringotts Bank with Salim. Except that this one was much thinner, and had bulging green eyes and different ears. He was wearing what looked like a pillowcase, and he was wringing his hands worriedly while looking at him with those odd eyes.

“So long Dobby has wanted to meet you, sir… Such an honor, it is!” the creature squeaked.

“Um…” Harry began to wonder if different creatures and species would act the same way toward him – like he was amazing, or any different from anyone else. He’d thought it would be just humans who would do that… “Th-thank you,” he trailed off uncertainly.

“Dobby can’t stay long!” the creature – Dobby – said quickly. “Or his masters might find out what Dobby is up to!”

“What _are_ you up to?” Harry asked, still confused.

“Dobby has come – to _warn_ Harry Silas Potter!” the thing said nervously, glancing about as though someone would enter the bathroom at any moment to stop him from doing what he’d come to do. “Harry Silas Potter _must leave Hogwarts_!”

“What?” Harry demanded, uncurling himself and leaning forward with his eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“Dobby cannot say,” the creature said tearfully, “But Harry Silas Potter Sir is in _great danger_ at Hogwarts school! He cannot stay!”

“But why am _I_ the only one in danger?” Harry challenged. Was it something to do with being able to turn into a snake? He felt like too many people knew already – even though he trusted Caprice, he didn’t trust whoever must have told her. He just didn’t know who that was.

At this question however, Dobby fell silent, biting his lip and looking at him with pained eyes.

“Tell me!” Harry ordered sharply, his heart suddenly pounding much faster. “I’m not the only one in danger, am I? Who else is? Zuri? Sadi? Xylon? Caprice? Troi? Pirros?” Still Dobby said nothing, though he looked infinitely more sad.

But suddenly Harry didn’t care about Dobby’s feelings – his silence could’ve been taken as confirmation for his fears, but he had to know for sure. And this… _thing_ – was holding back information that could keep his friends – especially Zuri – safe. Anger filling him, he reached forward quickly, grabbing the pillowcase clothing the creature, and bringing him closer.

“Tell me – _now_ ,” Harry insisted darkly. “Is my family in danger?”

“Dobby cannot say, Harry Silas Potter Sir!” the thing said miserably. “My masters will not let me tell!”

“Yeah, and who are your masters?” Harry hissed, even as he distantly wondered what a “master” was supposed to be.

“Dobby cannot say, sir!” the elf wailed. “Dobby cannot let Harry Silas Potter Sir stay here – not now that history is to repeat itself, now that the Chamber of Secrets is open once more…”

Suddenly Dobby froze, horror-struck, and then he hit himself in the head several times. Too stunned at the thing’s abrupt actions, Harry stared while Dobby mumbled too himself, “Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby! Mustn’t tell!”

“Stop!” Harry finally said, coming back to himself and giving the elf still in his grip a little shake. When the elf obeyed, he let go of him, letting him stand normally on his own. He looked slightly dazed – likely due to hitting his head so hard so many times. “The Chamber of Secrets, you said? And it’s been opened before. Who opened it before?”

“Ah, sir, ask no more – ask no more of poor Dobby,” the creature stammered. “Harry Silas Potter Sir must leave, sir! Do not meddle in such danger!”

“Dobby, answer me!” Harry said sharply. “ _Who_ opened the Chamber last time?”

“Dobby can’t, sir – Dobby can’t – Dobby mustn’t tell!” the thing squealed. “Go home, Harry Silas Potter Sir! Go home!”

“I’m _not_ going home!” Harry snarled. “I already know about the basilisk – she’s not trying to hurt anyone! What I _don’t_ know is who is trying to control her!”

Dobby’s eyes were wide and filled with wonder. “Dobby has heard of Harry Silas Potter Sir’s greatness, but he had no idea of your wisdom! Dobby did not think anyone would find out so soon!”

“Shut _up_ with this ‘greatness’ stuff!” Harry yelled, getting to his feet and towering over the creature that he realized only came about to his knee. “I don’t care about _me_ , but you are keeping information from me that puts _my_ friends and family in danger!”

_:Now, **who** was last to open the Chamber?!:_

Suddenly Harry heard the sink make a slight screeching noise, as though someone was trying to turn a long-rusted faucet. At the same time, he became aware of a glowing white light coming from the sink next to him.

“Master calls Dobby,” the elf suddenly squeaked, and cracked away before Harry could stop him.

But now the sink held his full attention; it was sinking right out of sight, leaving a large pipe in its place, large enough for a man to get through. Blinking rapidly, Harry tried to figure out what had happened, and why the sink had disappeared.

And suddenly, he noticed little engravings of snakes all around the sinks, one in particular next to the opening squirming as though it was alive. He was all of a sudden aware that this pipe led into the Chamber of Secrets. This pipe would lead to Emeralda.

Well, he certainly did need to speak with her.

So, without another thought or hesitation, lest he change his mind, Harry climbed in, and let himself drop.

…

Hermione was worried about Harry. She hadn’t seen him since the night before, when he had run out of the room as though the hounds of hell were after him. She had seen him approaching the beginning stages of a panic attack, and had tried answering the questions directed at him, but even Neville’s silent support didn’t help. She understood. Harry saw most adults as a threat. With so many in the room, and then with the caretaker’s screaming remarks in his direction, he was bound to feel trapped and even attacked. She was sure that if there had been less teachers in the room – especially Professors Dumbledore and Snape, with his special distrust of them – he would’ve attacked Filch rather than running away. But he clearly knew that the odds weren’t in his favor. If she were in his place, she likely would’ve acted the same way.

But that wasn’t the problem. The problem was that as far as she knew, Harry had never come back to his dorm – and if he did, it was long after curfew. She and Neville had stayed waiting by the entrance to the entrance of the Hufflepuff Common Room right up until five minutes before curfew, before finally having to run back up to Gryffindor Tower, a trip that would normally take fifteen minutes. As soon as the sun was up, she was waiting by the entrance again. She just had to make sure he was okay after last night.

“Has he not gotten up yet?” Neville’s voice was surprised as he approached a while after she had arrived. “It’s past sunrise.”

“I haven’t seen him,” Hermione shook her head worriedly. “What if he never came back?” she fretted. “What if he’s hurt somewhere, and he can’t get to anyone? What if…”

“Zuri? Xylon?”

Harry’s bewildered voice came, not from the Hufflepuff Commons, as expected, but from down the corridor, where he’d just come from a connecting hallway.

“Oh, Harry!” Hermione cried, rushing forward and hugging him, ignoring what seemed to be snot on his collar. “I was so worried about you, after we didn’t see you last night! Are you alright? Where did you go? I didn’t see you go back to your dorm – was it long after curfew? Did…?”

“I’m okay, Zuri,” Harry said, still in that bewildered voice. “It’s very early, though – you’re not usually awake yet. Why are you awake?”

“I came to see you at sunrise,” Hermione said, “Because I know that’s when you usually get up, and I didn’t want to miss you. But – you look like you’ve been awake for awhile, even though you _do_ still look tired. Just how much sleep did you get?”

Harry shrugged unconcernedly. “I didn’t. I was in the Chamber all night, talking to Emeralda. I need to find a way to get her some food.”

“Harry!” Hermione hissed, looking around as though someone would pop out of the bricks and accuse Harry of the attack the night before. “You can’t just go saying stuff like that where anyone could hear you! They’ll think you’re ‘the Heir’!” Suddenly what he’d said processed completely.

“And _how_ did you get into the Chamber of Secrets?!” she whisper-yelled. “I thought you could just talk to her through the walls!”

“There was an entrance in one of the bathrooms,” Harry said, confused at why she was so upset that he knew how to get in. “I don’t know how I opened it, but I was yelling at this…thing, in Parseltongue – accidentally – and then the sink disappeared and there was a pipe. So I jumped in.” His expression suddenly took on an admiring quality.

“Emeralda is _beautiful_ ,” he said in a hushed voice – not so much for secrecy, but out of an odd sort of reverence. “She’s approximately as long as this corridor, and the color of her scales is just like the Slytherin green, and so shiny. Even her venom is amazing – I saw it burn away a whole rat skeleton!”

“Harry, do you have a crush on her?” Neville teased, finally speaking up since seeing him.

Harry’s expression morphed into one of confusion and anger. “Xylon, since I know you, I’m assuming that you don’t mean that I _hurt_ her before leaving,” he said in a controlled voice, though his hands were clenched in fists.

“No, I meant that you liked her,” Neville said quickly, reminded once again that Harry got confused by the simplest of phrases.

“Oh,” Harry relaxed. “Well, of course I like her! I’ve never seen a snake so large…”

Hermione had an odd expression on her face while Harry reminisced on Emeralda’s apparently ‘beautiful’ features, but with a shake of her head, her expression cleared and she said, “Harry, just don’t let on that you know anything about the attack on Mrs. Norris. I’ve heard people whispering enough of their suspicions as it is, seeing as you’re a Parselmouth. I know it’s stupid – but people will believe what’s easy, and I don’t think too many people will be happy with you here.”

“She’s right, Harry,” Neville interjected. “Last night Ron was going on and on about you being the only Parselmouth in school, and there were no attacks until you showed up, so you _must_ be the Heir of Slytherin. A lot of Gryffindor is behind him, but they’re going to be paying a lot closer attention to you than normal, to see if Ron is right.”

“Sex,” Harry cursed. He’d hated the scrutiny he’d gotten from the school so far – this would make privacy nigh impossible.

“What did Emeralda say to you, Harry?” Neville asked quietly as they made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast.

“Oh,” Harry remembered. “Well, she still can’t see who it is that’s trying to order her around, but she thinks that it’s one of the younger years. Sometimes the Parseltongue slips, and the voice is higher like with younger people. So it’s probably a first or second year, or maybe a younger third year.”

“Great,” Hermione said dully. “So we have it narrowed down to about a hundred and fifty students, half of which whose Houses we can’t even access.”

“Hm…” Harry mused. “I’ll ask Caprice and Troi to watch in their Houses for anyone suspicious. We can’t really say they need to watch for someone with a book, because we _are_ in school, but maybe they’ll find something. They’re very smart – especially Caprice. I don’t know how but she knows _lots_ of stuff.”

…

The past week hadn’t been particularly pleasant for Harry. It seemed that every student, and even several of the teachers, had their eyes on Harry, and it made him feel uneasy. He didn’t like being noticed, and he especially didn’t like being watched by Siyamak and Grímur – though he had never caught their stares, he knew they were there.

He also heard several students whispering about him – slowly at first, but increasing as the rumors about him spread. Even Zacharias Smith, his own dorm mate, seemed to be avoiding him, and he wasn’t sure why. Zacharias had seemed like a friend, but now he was listening to several Gryffindors who said Harry was downright evil.

Luckily, most of the other Hufflepuffs were defending him – even ones he hardly knew or didn’t know at all. One particular day, Harry overheard Justin telling a third-year Gryffindor to lay off of Harry – that he didn’t know what he was talking about.

As glad as he was of his House’s support, he still didn’t like the stares and whispers from the rest of the school following him as he went to his classes and meals. He had taken to finding a refuge in the Hufflepuff Common Room more often than not, where most of the time, the rest of his Housemates just let him be.

He avoided the second floor as much as he could as well – the smell of the blood, which was apparently impossible to get off, permeated the air there so strongly that it was as though the blood had just been spilt. For a couple of days after Halloween, the smell seemed to be almost permanently lodged up his nose, and he could smell it at odd times even on the fourth or fifth floors. It certainly didn’t help that the smelly old caretaker seemed to be on a rampage for ‘too happy’ students, trying to hand out detentions for breathing too loudly. Harry avoided him as best he could, though whenever he passed him, he could feel the man’s glare as though it was a physical thing.

One Monday, a little more than a week after the attack on Mrs. Norris, Harry was tired after a History of Magic lesson where a couple of the Gryffindor girls – he thought one of their names was something like Purple or Violet, and he couldn’t remember the other, only knowing she had a twin in Ravenclaw – had drawn the story of Salazar Slytherin and his Chamber of Secrets out of Professor Binns. He couldn’t help but notice several of the Gryffindors giving him significant, not-so-subtle looks, even while the Hufflepuffs glared right back at them, and he was glad to escape to Charms with the Slytherins.

That period, they were working on their warming charms, which was relatively simple for Harry, seeing as he’d had lots of practice with it growing up. All he had to do now was direct the flow of magic into the wand rather than from his entire body, as he’d learned to do in snake form. The class had already been taught the charm last class period, before the weekend, which Harry had found a boring waste of time but more preferable than faking sickness and seeing Volker, as he’d noticed several students do in the past few weeks.

A way for the professor to measure their progress was by having them warm a chunk of chocolate in the bowl in front of him. Seeing as the chocolate had to be tempered, it was more control than anything he was trying to learn. He kept using the same amount of magic as he would his entire body, and expelling it all at once out the end of his wand. It caused the chocolate to get too hot too fast, so he kept having to get a new chunk of chocolate from the professor and start over.

“It’s a warming charm, Harry, not a blasting hex,” Saghir told him when he went back for his fourth piece of chocolate. “Just picture the chocolate melting, and then put up the warming barrier around the bowl.”

“I’ve never seen chocolate melt,” Harry told him frustratedly. “I don’t know what to picture.”

“Here – watch me do it,” Saghir said, and demonstrated with another chunk of chocolate in his own bowl. Harry watched as the yellow ball encompassed the entire bowl for a brief moment before the chocolate slowly began to melt to a creamy liquid.

Watching it, Harry began to get an inkling of an idea in his mind. This seemed quite similar to how he put the ball of warmth around Sadi, and how he had to keep the heat lower to prevent from boiling her blood.

He accepted the chocolate, and went back to his spot next to Troi, imagining the chocolate was a snake that he was trying to prevent from dying.

It still took several tries for him to get a good hold on his magic, but finally he let it out slowly enough that the chocolate began to melt at an even pace. After a couple more times, he was sure he had it down solid.

After the bell rang, he approached Saghir’s desk while the rest of the students rushed out to get to lunch.

“Saghir,” he addressed the professor, “Is this the same warming charm that might be put on children, should someone be worried about them freezing in the outdoors?”

“It has been used that way before, yes,” the man said, appearing confused at this line of questioning. “It’s quite common to put a charm on a cloak to add that extra bit of warmth to the one wearing it, though usually it’s not necessary.”

“Alright, thank you!” Harry said brightly, and before Saghir could question him further, he hurried out of the classroom.

It was just beginning lunchtime, but Harry was certain he had time to go back to his dorm before meeting with Xylon and Zuri for lunch. After all, he’d gotten sick before because he had allowed his body to get too cold. Now he wore a sweater and occasionally the thing Sirius called ‘underwear’ under his robes, as well as a pair of socks. Today he was even wearing shoes.

But really, the only reason to wear those things was so he wouldn’t get sick, right? And with the warming charm, he could go a few hours without having to worry about getting sick at all. There was no reason for him to wear clothes now.

After getting to his dorm, he divested himself of his clothing, tossing it all carelessly to the floor beside his bed. With his basilisk heartstring wand, he incanted the warming charm in Parseltongue, just to be safe. The Parseltongue spells seemed to work better for him, anyway. He smiled when the warmth washed over him, warmer than when he’d been wearing his clothes. He wondered why more people didn’t just use the warming charm – it seemed much more efficient than clothing did.

He wondered suddenly at what to do with his wand – he now had no pocket with which to hold it.

He suddenly remembered the wand holster in his trunk – the one that was supposed to go on his arm. He opened the lid and dug through the trunk until he found the holster. It was much easier to attach to his arm than he’d expected.

Slipping the wand inside, he set off with a beaming smile for the Great Hall, wondering what was for lunch that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear, nudist Harry just keeps popping up. I just think it’s hilarious. And the next chapter is about to be crazy. ;)  
> Ah, the cliffhangers! I hate reading them, but I love posting them lol. It’s the sadist in me haha. XD And I figured after the seriousness of most of the first part of the chapter, I could put the humor in at the end here. ;)  
> I know some people are getting upset at Harry being so afraid all the time and “when is he going to act sneaky and badass like a ‘real’ snake”, and all I have to say about that is that I don’t really give a damn how frustrated you are with how I’ve molded this Harry. Yes, he’s OOC, but that’s FanFiction. He was raised differently than in canon – obviously he’s not going to act just as unaffected as he does in canon with all of this going on.   
> Aside from that, he was afraid and panicky on Halloween not so much because the teachers were more powerful than him, but because he was certain he had figured out how they were supposed to act – he had these images of who Dumbledore and Snape were in his mind. Being a naturally suspicious person, when they started acting differently than how he’s expected, he thought they were acting that way for their own gain, and that they were trying to get him to let his guard down. The problem is that he didn’t know what they were planning – and that uncertainty of what to expect is where the fear came from. He knew that they were dangerous – at least he thinks so – but he didn’t know why they were taking action then, and he didn’t know why. Hope that was easy to understand. If you’re still confused, shoot me a PM and I’ll see if I can word it better.  
> *I couldn’t remember if the writing on the wall was written with red paint or with blood (I seem to remember it being rooster blood…?), so we’ll pretend it was indeed blood. I have a reason for this that you will find out later.  
> Thanks for reading!


	32. Run

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I considered naming this chapter “Apeshit” or “Batshit”, but then realized it wasn’t really in keeping with the mood of the story or the other chapter names. *sigh*  
> Boipelo – Ron  
> Siyamak – Snape  
> Grímur – Dumbledore  
> Troi – Blaise   
> Xylon – Neville  
> Caprice – Luna

Hermione wondered what was taking Harry so long to get to the Great Hall. All of the other Hufflepuffs had come in several minutes before, as well as the Slytherins sharing the Charms class. In fact, most of the students in the school were already in the Great Hall – Mondays tended to garner more students for lunch than any other day of the week. Hermione suspected that it was because they had yet to have homework to be stressed about being due, and therefore weren’t skipping in favor of keeping their grades up and detentions and House points loss down.

She hoped nothing had happened to him, though looking at the ones who’d had Charms at the same time as Harry, she didn’t think it had. None of them appeared worried or concerned – they all looked the same as usual.

She looked down at Sadi and sighed.

“I wish I could understand Parseltongue,” she told her suddenly. “All I know about you is what Harry says, and we both know that he doesn’t say much about anything.”

Sadi let out a quiet hiss from her place next to the warm plate of chicken, but Hermione didn’t understand her any better than she had a minute before.

“I bet you’re really clever,” Hermione told her best friend’s sister. “You’d have to be, to be so comfortable around us humans. And of course, there’s knowing that if anything were to happen to you, Harry would probably _kill_ whoever had hurt you.” Sadi’s hiss seemed to have a hint of laughter to it.

Hermione sighed again and rested her chin on her hand. “It’d be nice to be a snake, at least for a short time,” she mused, using her free hand to pet Sadi’s scales. “Snakes have higher senses than humans do – though I’m sure you know that. Maybe if I was a snake, I could figure out just by tasting the air where Harry was.”

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Neville said from his seat right next to her. “He probably just wanted to talk to Professor Flitwick about something after class.”

“About _what_ , though?” Hermione said blankly.

Neville shrugged. “Dunno. But Professor Flitwick _does_ seem to have a bit of a soft spot for Harry – I’m sure you’ve noticed.”

Hermione nodded her agreement. “I’ve never seen him so fond of someone who’s not in his House before,” she admitted. “Though, knowing Harry, he probably said something to Professor Flitwick that seemed obvious and logical to his forest-y side, not knowing that it was a high compliment for the professor.”

Neville laughed a bit. “That’s probably true,” he admitted.

Suddenly Sadi raised the front half of her body, looking towards the closed doors of the Great Hall. Just as Hermione and Neville looked over, one of the doors opened, and they saw a head of messy black hair through the crowd.

Hermione was about to express her relief to Neville that Harry had finally shown up, when a murmur began to go through the students nearest to the doors, which rose exponentially to a roar that was echoed by the rest of the students.

“What is it?” Neville asked, trying to see through the suddenly thick crowd of students to the thing that had caught their attention. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t…” Hermione trailed off as she rose to her feet, and then her eyes suddenly bugged out as she saw what everyone else had. “Oh, _Merlin_ , no…”

“What? What is it?” Neville said, trying to see as the other students in front of and behind him began rising to see what had caught the attention of over half the students in the Hall.

But Hermione was no longer there – she was pushing through the crowd to get to Harry, whose walk down the aisles was causing students to part away from him, like they were afraid to touch him. This time though, it wasn’t their suspicions of his should’ve-been-Slytherin status that had them backing away. Several older boys were giving him mocking catcalls as he passed.

She finally got close enough to Harry, who smiled at her completely cluelessly while she shrugged out of her outer robe.

“Zuri!” he greeted happily. “I smell chicken in here – is that lunch today? – What...what are you doing?”

She was trying to wrap the robe around his form, so as to hide his complete and utter nakedness from the rest of the school, but he kept moving away from it.

“Harry, put the robe on!” she hissed through the gossiping murmur of the rest of the students. Her cheeks flamed as she studiously avoided looking anywhere below his face.

“But I don’t _need_ it!” he insisted, pulling away again. “We learned the warming charm in class today, and if I always have the charm on, I won’t get sick. And if there’s no chance of me getting sick, then there’s no reason for me to wear clothes! Easy!”

“Harry, you need to wear clothes to preserve your modesty,” Hermione gritted out frustratedly, though she was also trying to stop hysterical giggles from bubbling out of her throat. A year ago, she never would’ve guessed she’d be trying to convince a boy her age to put some clothes on in the middle of a room with about a thousand students, but here she was.

“You and Sirius and Salim keep saying modesty is important, but I still don’t know what it _is_ ,” Harry said aggrievedly. “I have the warming charm, so I’m not going to get sick, so why worry?”

“That’s not the point, Harry!” Hermione said, trying to put the robe on him again. “You’re not supposed to let _anyone_ see you naked, let alone a thousand students at school!”

“But, _why_?” Harry enunciated in what could be taken for a whine, but was really just frustration and confusion while he pulled back and away again. “Clothes don’t protect you from anything, and a warming charm keeps you from getting sick! What’s so important about clothes when they serve no purpose?!”

Hermione was about to answer when suddenly a faint light touched Harry, and he was abruptly fully clothed. Hermione had just enough time to see Harry look briefly startled, before his eyes settled on someone behind her and his face became furious. She turned to see the Headmaster with his wand in hand, though it was now rested by his side.

 _Oh, no,_ Hermione thought with dread. _This is not going to be good._

…

Harry felt his teeth slickening with venom as soon as he saw that it was Grímur who had cast the spell to clothe him again. Seeing the wand raised in his direction sent his mind racing back to his first night in the castle, when the old man had repeatedly stopped him from leaving before making him go to sleep. He knew that most people in the Wizarding World trusted and respected this man, but Harry could see that the man had many faces that he showed to different people. He was _not_ someone to be trusted or admired – Harry often felt that he was the only human who knew how dangerous this man really was. Even Sirius and Salim, while they accepted his distrust for the Headmaster, still felt some respect and obedience toward him.

But this was not the time to explain to everyone what a manipulative bastard the bearded man actually was – they wouldn’t believe him, not now. He wasn’t even considering it, really. Because as soon as he saw the wand raised toward him, red filled his vision and he lost it.

 _:Don’t you **dare** raise your wand to me, old man!: _Harry shouted, not noticing when the Hall suddenly dropped to dead silence at the sound of the angry Parseltongue. Many students suddenly recognized the difference between this angry Parseltongue, and the Parseltongue of Harry chatting with his snake. Anyone who didn’t trust him because of the Parseltongue abilities before suddenly realized that they didn’t want to make Harry Potter angry – they suddenly preferred the casual chats he had with the snake. That was nothing compared to the sibilant hisses that seemed to echo off the very walls of the castle, lending an eerie quality they had never expected from Hogwarts. But it also served as a proof to many of the people who had suspected him of opening the Chamber; clearly he had the ability to get angry enough – to get _dangerous_ enough – that many people saw no problem imagining him a muggleborn killer.

Hermione sighed resignedly when her best friend began shouting at the Headmaster in his native tongue, clearly too upset to remember to translate for the benefit of the listener.

No one moved for several minutes while Harry ranted, most of them too frightened to even make a sound. By now it wasn’t just the Parseltongue, however – now it included the green and shiny black sparks emitting in a continuous stream from the end of the wand still in its holster, and the glowing magical aura emitting from every part of his body, and the canine teeth that appeared just a touch too long – a bit too sharp.

Finally however, a distraction came – though not in the form of anything Hermione would’ve wished. Ron Weasley just seemed to want to add fuel to the fire by speaking up.

“I told you guys he was Dark!” he suddenly shouted, voice breaking through the sound of the Parseltongue and cutting Harry off. Harry turned dark eyes to the redhead, still amidst his mindless anger, not yet recognizing that the boy was nothing more than a childish bully.

Weasley gamely went on, eyes wide – “He’s Dark, just like I said! He’s gonna kill all of us in our sleep – he’s the one who opened the Chamber – he’s nothing but a nasty Slytherin!”

A cry of protest went up from several of the Slytherins, but it was Snape who cut through the rest of them and said, “Detention for a week, Weasley! Don’t speak of things you do not know!”

“You’re probably helping him!” Weasley accused, pointing a finger at the Head of Slytherin. “Everyone knows Parselmouths go to Slytherin! They’re evil! He’s trying to fool you all!”

“Oh, shut up, Weasley!” Hermione finally snapped at him. “Harry’s a _Hufflepuff_ , you colorblind _twit_ , and he’s been doing all he can to stop any sort of bullying going on here – he’s not about to _kill_ anyone, he’s _not_ the Heir of Slytherin, and he _didn’t_ open the Chamber!”

“Shut _up_ , you buck-toothed _know-it-all_!” Weasley shouted, drawing his wand and taking quick, threatening steps toward her.

It was when Weasley stepped forward that Harry finally reacted, before any of the teachers even had a chance to. In an instant, his wand was out and casting the first spell he thought of. Horns sprouted from the boy’s head, and he fell back with a hoarse cry of pain. Harry hissed another spell, pointing his wand toward him, but this time the Headmaster’s shield blocked it from reaching the redheaded boy, bouncing it back to the far wall, where it dissipated harmlessly. Before he could cast another spell, Troi and Xylon were holding each of his arms to prevent him from going anywhere.

“Don’t you _ever_ talk to her like that _again_!” Harry yelled over the rest of the students’ loud buzzing chatter, pulling against his friends’ grasps in an attempt to get to the boy. “I will do _far_ worse to you if you do, you insignificant piece of falcon _shit_!”

“Harry!” Hermione’s voice, accompanied quickly by her face, broke through his rage. She put her hands on his shoulders and leaned in close. “Harry, calm _down_ , or a teacher is going to make you!”

“Let them _try_!” Harry gritted out mindlessly, still fighting against his friends’ strong grips while they began pulling him toward the front doors. “Xylon – Troi – let me _go_!”

“Sorry, Harry,” Xylon murmured. “We’re trying to keep you from doing something you might regret later.”

“I _won’t_ regret it!” Harry insisted angrily, still wanting to fire another curse at the redhead – though mostly he wanted to curse Grímur. Boipelo was an idiot and a bully, but Grímur was a dangerous threat not to be taken lightly.

“Harry, my boy,” the Headmaster chose that moment to intervene with the mixed students trying to keep Harry back.

In retrospect, that was a bad decision on his part.

As soon as Harry saw the Headmaster, he snarled in a hissing manner, fighting with renewed strength to get free.

 _:You stay the **fuck** away from me, Grímur!: _he spat furiously. _:You’ve done enough here already!:_

To make matters worse, it was just then that Madam Pomfrey entered the Great Hall, having had to deal with a sick student before coming to lunch much later than usual. Harry’s eyes found her form, and his fear manifested as rage increased tenfold.

He was still hissing furious threats to anyone nearby when Professor McGonagall finally had enough and fired a stunning spell, unseen, at Harry. Instantly the small boy fell silent, dropping soundlessly in Blaise and Neville’s arms.

…

“You have news?”

“Of course I have news,” the dark-haired man snapped. “Would I have come here in the middle of the school day if I just wanted some tea and biscuits? I’ll remind you it’s still my lunch hour. I can’t be late for class, or it will get back to Dumbledore, and he’ll suspect.”

“Yes, yes, of course, Severus,” Lucius said, inclining his head toward the chair next to him, a clear directive for him to sit down. “I assume this news is urgent, then?”

“No,” Snape admitted, sitting down. “But the school is in an uproar over an incident Potter created at lunch, and it seemed the best time to come. I supervise detention for the next several days.”

“Dear me,” the elder Malfoy smirked. “Whatever happened?”

Severus waved his hand. “That’s unimportant,” he dismissed. “I’m sure you’ll hear about it in tomorrow’s paper, anyway.”

“Very well,” Lucius conceded with a nod, though his eyes were still curious. “Since you seem short on time, what have you discovered?”

“Nothing in particular – little things, really, but when added up…” he trailed off with a shrug. “Ever since the attack on Halloween, he’s been uncomfortable with the scrutiny. He escapes to his Common Room several times a day – likely as Hufflepuff, mindless as they are, have thrown their support behind him.”

“You think Potter is the one behind the attack?” Lucius delicately raised an eyebrow.

“Of course not,” Snape said sharply. “Potter is so daft, he wouldn’t know how to kill a cat if he was being possessed – let alone kill the likely intended target of an actual _person_.”

“But, no one died,” Lucius said reasonably.

Severus snorted. “Likely because whoever it was was interrupted in the midst of whatever spell was used to Petrify that thrice-damned cat. Not because it was Potter putting all his weight into some Dark spell.

“In addition, Potter has a talent for making his way in unheard of times – especially for what is, for all intents and purposes, a first year – to and from his classes and throughout the school. One would suggest that perhaps he has a map – though of course one has never been made – or perhaps he is making his way through the walls.”

“Hm…the walls,” Lucius murmured to himself. “Secret passageways, or creature-like speed?”

“I am uncertain,” Severus said reluctantly, not liking to admit to not knowing something, before rising to his feet. “I must get back to the school. In his supposed ‘omniscience’, Dumbledore has likely noticed my absence by now.”

…

Harry awoke to mutters and a familiar, undesirable smell. His eyes felt heavy, and he slowly opened them to reveal a stone ceiling above him. Glancing about, his heart skipped a beat when he recognized the place of his nightmares – the Hospital Wing; and he was lying in one of the beds, wearing a pair of striped blue pajamas that he knew weren’t his.

He turned his eyes to see who was speaking, and saw Volker, Grímur, Sirius, and Salim standing in a circle several feet away. They were speaking in hushed whispers, and from what he could see, they all appeared quite grim.

He glanced about, looking for Sadi, but couldn’t see her anywhere.

 _:Sadi?:_ he whispered lowly, below the decibel that humans could hear, but he received no response.

He felt relief and betrayal in equal measures. He was relieved that she wasn’t in a dangerous place such as this, but he also felt betrayed that she was leaving him alone with the wolves, so to speak. Then he wondered – was she alright? Why _wasn’t_ she there with him? He was quite certain that if she could be, she would’ve been there. So why couldn’t she?

Salim happened to glance his way, and he noticed that he was awake. His discovery must have shown on his face, because the other three turned to look at him a moment later.

“Ah, Harry, my boy!” Grímur said cheerfully, as though nothing was amiss – as though Harry hadn’t just essentially had a temper tantrum in front of the entire school. “Glad to see you back among the land of the living.”

“Where is Sadi?” Harry asked Sirius, ignoring the Headmaster. “Why isn’t she here?”

“She’s with Hermione,” Sirius assured him. “She – Hermione, that is – was a bit upset after your little scene in the Great Hall, so I believe Sadi and Neville stayed with her to help calm her down.”

“Why was she upset?” Now Harry was even more confused. Then his face darkened with the possibilities, and his voice deepened slightly as he growled, “Did Boipelo hurt her again?”

“Still getting used to your different names for people,” Sirius told him. “Who is ‘Boipelo’?”

“The one with red hair,” Harry said, not remembering his actual name. “He’s the twins’ younger brother.”

“Oh – Weasley,” Sirius remembered. “No – from what I understand, those twins took care of their brother while you were passed out. Hermione is just upset because…” he trailed off, and then turned to Salim. “Moony, why is she upset? It didn’t make too much sense to me.”

“Essentially what it boils down to is the whole scene in the Great Hall was upsetting – mostly the cursing and trying to get at the Headmaster.”

Harry still didn’t understand, but he brushed it aside to think on later. “Why am I here?”

“Well, you were knocked unconscious,” Sirius explained, conjuring a chair and sitting beside the bed. “Didn’t know how long you’d be out, so Madam Pomfrey took you here while Professor Dumbledore Floo’d us to come up to the school.”

“I know how you feel comfortable around your guardians,” Grímur explained, “So I thought it best to bring them up here for our little chat.”

“I don’t want to talk to him,” Harry directed these angered words to Salim, as the scarred man followed Sirius’ example and seated himself in his own conjured chair next to the bed. Volker went quietly to her own office, leaving the four of them alone.

“Then just listen, my boy,” Grímur told him with a sigh, reaching into his pocket and coming back out with a tin. “Lemon drop?” he offered, holding it toward Harry.

Harry glowered at him, not meeting his eyes and having every mental shield he knew up and guarding. After a moment, the Headmaster sighed and pulled the tin back, taking one yellow piece of candy out for himself and placing the tin in his pocket.

“Due to your actions in the Great Hall, I’m afraid you have three days of detention with Professor Snape,” the man said, but could go no further as Harry suddenly shot up while shouting at him.

“ _Siyamak_?” he exclaimed, shoving his blankets off of him with the intention of leaving the bed. “No! He’s a _monster_! I’d rather have detention with _you_ than spend any time alone with that…!”

“Harry!” Salim rebuked before he could further incriminate himself. “Calm down, and stay in that bed. Just listen to what Professor Dumbledore has to say.”

Harry subsided at his guardian’s censure, though he was by no means less angry – or less calm. Tightening his lips, he stared at Grímur’s beard while the man spoke again.

“I understand that assimilating to civilized life can be difficult,” he went on as though nothing was amiss. “And so I can somewhat understand your reluctance to wear clothes, and using a warming charm rather than clothes does indeed seem logical after what you’ve been told. So you can consider this incident a warning.

“I’ll let your guardians explain to you the particulars of reasons we have to wear clothing in public. For now, the reason you have been assigned this detention is not your nudity in front of the entire school, but rather for the curses toward Mr. Weasley. I understand that you were provoked, and that is why it is not a full week. Rest assured that Mr. Weasley will be getting detention for his words as well. Your detentions will start tonight after dinner.”

“But why do I have to be with _Siyamak_?” Harry protested angrily.

The old man didn’t answer directly, and said rather evasively, “I am quite sure that it will not be quite as terrible as you now believe.” Ignoring Harry’s glower, he rose to his feet and directed his next words to Sirius and Salim. “Excuse me, boys – now I have to go and deal with some reporters. If we’re not careful, this incident will likely make the front page of the _Daily Prophet_.”

Harry watched with dark eyes as Grímur left the Hospital Wing, letting the door snap quietly closed behind him.

“Harry, I don’t know how else we can explain it to you,” Sirius said with a sigh, rubbing a hand down his face. “You’re just not supposed to go out in public with no clothes on – or no shoes.”

Harry directed his glower to Sirius and Remus. “You didn’t stop Grímur,” he accused.

“Stop him from what, exactly?” Remus asked tiredly. “He didn’t do anything.”

“I have to go to detention with Siyamak.” Harry said in a low voice, trying to contain his anger.

“That’s because you decided to go all ape shit on the Weasley kid,” Sirius said. “Not because Dumbledore has it out for you.”

Harry fought frustrated tears at his guardians’ lack of understanding. He was still – silent – for a long, tense moment. Finally he pushed aside the blankets again, and grabbed his wand and holster from the table next to him, strapping it around his wrist.

“Harry, where are you going?” Remus asked him, putting out a restraining hand when Harry climbed out of the bed. Harry scowled at him.

“I’m going to go find Zuri and Sadi,” he told him, resentment clear in his voice. “Maybe _they’ll_ actually care about anything I say.”

“Harry, that’s not fair,” Sirius interjected. “Everyone gets detention when they curse another student, regardless of the circumstances. Anything we say isn’t going to change that.”

“You let Grímur give me detention with _Siyamak_ ,” Harry accused. “If you can’t keep the man who hurt another snake away from me, what is it that you’re even doing as my guardian? Aren’t you supposed to _guard_ me, and _protect_ me?” Harry ignored Sirius’ stunned look and tried moving past them again.

“Harry,” Remus objected, grabbing his forearm before he could make it past them.

Harry stiffened, clenching his hands into fists while his human and snake instincts went to war with each other.

“Let go of me, Seff,” he said darkly, not looking at him. But he could tell, by how the man instantly let go of him, that the man was stunned at the new name he’d used – or rather, part of the old name he’d stopped using several months beforehand. Wolf.

He felt a brief flare of guilt at his words to the man, but he didn’t let himself dwell on it. He pushed it to the back of his mind while he left the suddenly quiet Hospital Wing behind him.

…

Harry didn’t want to talk to anyone – not even Sadi. And, since Sadi was with Zuri, he wasn’t going to talk to Zuri, either. He might’ve talked with Xylon, but the chances were high that he was with them or with Boipelo, and he didn’t want to encounter either of them. He wasn’t going to talk with Troi, either, because he wasn’t sure where he’d start searching for him, and he didn’t want to come upon anyone else while searching. The same went for Caprice.

But if he was being honest with himself, he just really didn’t want to see anyone right then. He was feeling hurt that his guardians hadn’t even _tried_ getting him out of detentions with Siyamak, and that Sadi had decided to stay with Zuri because Zuri was upset – completely unreasonably, too. It wasn’t like _she_ was the one to walk naked into the Great Hall. And he still didn’t even know what was wrong with that, and no one was telling him. No one was giving him straight answers about human expectations – only giving him unsatisfactory comments of “you just don’t do it”.

And suddenly he didn’t want to stay with the humans. He’d trusted Sirius and Salim, and they had let him down. What would stop Zuri from doing the same – or Xylon, or Caprice, or Troi, or Pirros, or even Sadi?

It would be better for everyone if he just wasn’t there. If he wasn’t there, they couldn’t hurt him.

He was sure that Zuri would take care of Sadi. And Zuri had friends now – she didn’t need _him_. That was clearly shown when she was too upset to come make sure he was okay with enemies all around him in the Hospital Wing. Caprice wasn’t being bullied by her Housemates anymore, and Xylon had more friends than just the other Gryffindor boys in his dorm, and Troi…he would be fine. They all would be. They didn’t need him anymore.

He stayed to the shadows when he escaped the Hospital Wing, so no one would see him. He didn’t want to deal with anyone – not even the typical stares coming from strangers. It was now class time, so there weren’t as many people to encounter, but there were still a few students late to class, or teachers walking about during their free period.

He left by way of the courtyard. No one was out there, and it was the quickest way from the castle without having to push open the heavy front doors that were always closed during classes. He moved quickly, lest anyone find him as he traversed the open grass toward the forest.

As soon as he got into the cover of the shadowy trees in the Forbidden Forest, he concentrated, and shifted into his snake form. Without a glance back at the castle, he slithered quickly forward, deeper into the forest and away from everyone he knew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is shorter than normal, but a lot did happen. Don’t worry – he’s not going to stay in the forest forever. He just needs to clear his head, and he’s not totally thinking straight right now because of how betrayed he feels.  
> Seff – wolf  
> Thanks for reading!


	33. Ally

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to admit, I was rather surprised by the amount of people that supported Harry’s decision to run away, more than just sympathizing with him. An even more surprising amount of people wanted Harry to hang out in the forest for a while. I suppose you’ll see how that turns out now. ;)  
> This chapter is a bit angstier than normal, but I felt it was called for. Besides, I have family/drama labeled as the genres for this – and what drama have you ever seen without some angst? So there. Fluff can be in a different chapter, but this one is almost pure angst with some hurt/comfort thrown in at the end.  
> Siyamak – Snape  
> Ulysses – Lucius Malfoy

In the time that Harry Potter had disappeared, the entire Wizarding World was in an uproar. Rumors abounded for the reasons he’d left, and not all of them were kind. Everyone knew by now of his nude appearance in the Great Hall at lunch – it was impossible to keep it quiet after he disappeared, and people were clamoring for someone to lay the blame on. Some supposed that he must’ve left out of embarrassment, though that wasn’t a popular opinion – anyone who had seen him that day had seen quite clearly that he was anything _but_ embarrassed about his nudity.

People speculated on where he’d gone, and the Hogwarts students seemed to agree largely that he had found some forest, seeing as he had called it his “home” many times before. It was split though on _which_ forest he was living in – many seemed to think he was in the Forbidden Forest, but others said that if _Hagrid_ had been unable to find him after two days of searching in what was essentially his second home, then he had to have moved on to some other forest. Ideas of how he got to another forest circulated – some seemed to think that he moved with vampiric speed so he could move quickly without being seen, while others said that it was more likely a case of accidental apparition.

His friends worried about him, of course. They didn’t know what had happened to make him run – it seemed so unlike him to just abandon the people he was close to and protective of. Sadi stayed mostly with Hermione the whole time, sure that when Harry returned – and it was too painful to consider that he might _not_ return – he would find his best friend first. Hermione could clearly see that Sadi was worried – and for good reason – because she didn’t even mind being in Gryffindor Tower when Hermione had to go to bed, even though people muttered their disapproval about a snake being there. She also thought it might be extra protectiveness that kept Sadi with Hermione – now that Harry was gone, it was her duty to keep the girl safe.

Hermione hadn’t been too worried at first – she remembered several months before, when she had woken up and Harry was gone, gone to the forest to think and get advice from a big snake, but he had returned after a few hours. She didn’t start worrying until he had been gone for a whole day without a word or appearance. She wasn’t sure why Harry had left, but as the days went on and her fear increased, she knew that it had to be something much bigger than some confusion assimilating to human rules.

Neville was just as worried, and actually ended up getting in an argument with Ron Weasley when the other Gryffindor had said he hoped “Potter never comes back – don’t know what the big deal is, anyway”. That had ended in a detention with Snape for both of them – there may or may not have been slugs spewing from Ron’s mouth when he was finished with him, of which Madam Pomfrey had said she could do nothing to stop it, and he had to just bear through it until the spell wore off.

Blaise was just as worried, but being a Slytherin, he was much better at hiding it. The Weasley twins were worried when they couldn’t find “snake boy” on a certain map…and then Luna wasn’t worried at all, simply saying with utter certainty that he would be back soon. But this only caused more people to whisper about her being “Loony” – no one was inclined to believe her, and some were more vocal about it than others.

Of course, Sirius and Remus were mindless with their worry and fear of Harry’s disappearance. They remembered all too well how Harry had been missing for ten years before, and they were terrified that he might be missing again for just as long. They had searched in the Forbidden Forest for almost two days straight after he’d disappeared, calling Harry’s name in increasingly desperate tones – but decided after that time that if he had been there, he would have left by then, and returned home in the hopes that when Harry returned, they would know of it there.

Neither slept, and every little noise – every Floo call – they jumped at, hoping that it was Harry returning, or news of someone having found him. They knew he would be safe, on some level, but their logic wasn’t staying with them too well at night, causing them to sleep very little. The reporters pestering for a story of what had happened – what caused the Boy-Who-Lived to run away – certainly didn’t help their stress levels any. The reporters learned quickly that any questions, by Floo call or in person, would only cause them to be hexed. It didn’t stop a few brave reporters from trying again, though, and they would’ve sealed off the Floo completely if they weren’t afraid that they would miss a call telling them Harry was back.

They were especially wracked with guilt at the knowledge that he had run away because he didn’t trust them. They couldn’t say they blamed him, after his words about Snape, but they honestly hadn’t realized that he was so afraid or distrustful of the Potions professor. Surely if it had been too bad, Harry would’ve told them earlier, rather than continuing to go to his class every week?

A few days after Harry had been gone, they had gone to Dumbledore, telling him that if and when Harry returned, they would be pulling Harry from the class entirely and he would never serve a detention with Snape. Dumbledore had tried to argue, but the two were unflinching. They had repeated Harry’s words thousands of times in their heads the past few days, remembering their last conversation with him before his disappearance, and they didn’t want Harry not trusting them because they apparently couldn’t guard and protect him. Finally Dumbledore had compromised that they would discuss this at further length after Harry had returned – and he was certain that he _would_ indeed return. His assurances did nothing for the worried parents, however – they would believe him when they saw Harry again.

Severus Snape had watched the practical rioting of the Wizarding World with a perpetual sneer on his face, voicing how ridiculous it was that people were so worried about a spoiled brat’s disappearance. Inwardly, however, he constantly remembered Lily, and what she would say if he just sat back when he could do something. He wasn’t quite sure what he should attempt, or how he might be better suited at finding Potter than anyone else, but the feeling was still there.

Finally, four days after his disappearance, Severus made the decision to act. He spent several hours brainstorming, not completely present while teaching his classes even as he planned. After classes were over, he skipped dinner in favor of making his way to Knockturn Alley for an item that wasn’t completely ethical and was generally only used in Azkaban. For the exchange of a few secrets and a potion or two, he bought a specialized bracelet and the seller’s silence on his purchase.

It was in the earliest hours of Saturday morning that he made his way to the Forbidden Forest – despite what everyone else thought, he was certain that Potter was there, just in his Animagus form of a snake. No one else knew of his abilities – he had kept his silence on that front – so they didn’t know what to look for. He was certain that even Dumbledore didn’t know – though he probably suspected something.

It was rather disgustingly easy to find Potter – with a simple “ _Accio snake Animagus_ ”, a green snake came flying toward him, landing without harm on the ground in front of him as Snape stepped back. The boomslang instantly began hissing threateningly, trying to get away, but Snape, in an almost bored manner, shot the Animagus revealing spell at the boy, encasing him in blue light before he changed back to the boy everyone knew as Harry Potter.

The boy hissed in shock and surprise, and Snape bent down quickly before he could regain his bearings, pulling him to his feet and snapping the Animagus suppression bracelet around his wrist.

“What did you do to me?!” Potter cried, clearly having discovered that he was unable to change back into his snake form. “Let me go!”

“I’m not going to hurt you, Potter – I just need you to listen,” Snape said, still keeping a hold on one wrist.

“Let me go!” Potter pleaded, frightened tears forming in his eyes as he tried jerking away. “Please – please don’t hurt me!”

Snape tightened his grip just slightly, enough to let the boy know that he wasn’t going anywhere but not enough to hurt him. Potter was doing enough of that anyway, in his tearful attempts to jerk away from him.

“Stop struggling, Potter!” Snape snapped. “You’ll only hurt yourself. Just listen to me, and I’ll let you go when I’m through.”

“Please – please don’t hurt me,” the boy whimpered tearfully, not seeming to have processed what Snape had said.

Snape sighed – he wouldn’t get anywhere if Potter wasn’t going to stop struggling long enough to listen to him. Reluctantly, he released his grip, though he kept a hold of his wand in case the boy tried running.

But as soon as he was released, Potter didn’t run – he seemed to realize that it was useless. He backed away until he fell against a tree, and curled up, hugging his knees to his chest protectively while his eyes continued to spill with frightened tears. His eyes caught on the thick silver bracelet encircling his wrist and going up his forearm a couple of inches – he tugged uselessly at it, seeming to understand that this was what was keeping him from being able to turn into a snake again.

“What did – why…” he stammered, seeming unable to form a coherent sentence through his fear.

Snape wouldn’t have done it with anyone else, but clearly their size difference and the fact that Snape was more magically powerful and knowledgeable was scaring the boy further. So, he sat down on the forest floor across from Harry, a couple of meters away. The boy flinched, but he didn’t seem quite as frightened as before – though that could just as easily have been his hopeful imagination.

“That is an Animagus suppression bracelet,” he explained calmly. “While you wear it, you will be unable to change back.”

The small boy’s fear grew once again. “You – how long…?”

“If you listen to me, it won’t be for long,” Snape assured him. “If you were in your snake form, I know that you wouldn’t be able to listen as much as you could if you were unable to change back. After I am done telling you what I have come here to say, I will remove it and be on my way.”

Potter clearly didn’t completely believe him, but helpless as he was, he had no choice but to listen. Staring at him wordlessly, he seemed to say for him to get on with whatever it was he had to say.

“Firstly, you need to understand that I pose no threat to you or your pet snake,” he said. It spoke to how frightened the boy was when he didn’t vocally protest against his use of the word “pet”. “I’m sure you’ve realized by now that I specifically requested overseeing your detentions, but this is not because I hold you at ill will and want you alone to more easily hurt you – or because of whatever other fear that brain of yours has come up with.

“You, of course, know who the Malfoys are,” he abruptly changed subjects. At the boy’s slightly confused look, he prodded, “Lucius is the one you bit when he tried to hurt your snake – Draco is the one currently a Slytherin in your year.”

At Potter’s lack of confusion now, Snape gamely presumed that the dirty boy understood. Going on, he said, “While I do understand that you found it necessary to bite Lucius after what he was trying to do, it also caused him to be suspicious. Or, to put it more aptly, his wife Narcissa is much more intelligent than her husband, and when she saw the bite she immediately recognized the venom as coming from a snake. Sharing this with her husband caused him to become suspicious of you, because he knew that you were the only one to bite him – and in human form – so he knew that you were somehow the cause of having snake venom flowing through his bloodstream.

“First he told Draco to give him as much information about you as he could. Luckily Draco received the intelligence genes from his father and hasn’t figured out anything substantial. Because of that, Lucius called me in to discuss you and figure out what secret you were holding.”

The boy’s face was white with panic. “Did – what did…?”

“He has no idea of your Animagus form,” Snape said firmly. “And I’m going to keep it that way. However, I thought it prudent to bring you into my confidence, because as slow as Draco is, he would eventually figure out something that would cause a ripple effect as to your abilities – should you continue on as you are.”

“You’re not going to…?” Potter asked to be sure, looking distrustful.

“I’m not,” Snape said firmly, feeling a pang of sympathy for the scared child that he quickly and forcefully shoved away. “I have led Lucius to believe that you are something of a hybrid vampire – one vague enough that there is little information about them in books that can be matched against you, but with enough clues that it is a possibility.”

“What…what’s a vampire?” Harry – Potter – swallowed, looking as though he was afraid to be hurt for speaking out of turn – which, when pondered on, he likely was.

“A normal vampire is someone who was once human, but after being bitten and changed, drinks human blood to survive, is immortal, moves faster than the eye can see, and burns to ash when exposed to direct sunlight,” Severus explained. “But there are known to be hybrids to the normal vampire – ones who can walk normally in the sunlight, with nothing more than a headache, and ones who have more control after they get a taste of human blood, and can feed without killing someone. Many vampires have different venom that promotes the change – some so different that they _can’t_ turn a vampire. Some venoms mimic others but don’t have quite the same effects, and some lack venom entirely.”

“Why…why are there so many…hybrids?” Potter asked, curiosity overcoming his fear for just a moment.

“Most vampires started out as Muggles,” Severus explained. “They have nothing with which to fight the venom that changes them, so their body is forced into compliance. But if a witch or wizard is bitten, it’s more common for them to die. Their magic fights against the foreign entity, and eventually the venom will overtake the exhausted magic – but because the magic has been fighting so hard to get rid of the venom, when it finally reaches the core the magic is too tired to accept the inevitable and help the venom along, so the venom kills the magic – and no witch or wizard can survive the disappearance of their magic. It can be locked down and unavailable and they would live, yes – but a person’s magical core is tied to their health and well-being.

“However, if someone has strong enough magic, or if, for some reason their magic accepts the venom more readily, then a magical person can make the change, and some can even still retain their magic. These are the vampires that become hybrids – the ones that started out magical. There is little information on them for a few reasons – one of which is because most of the time there are spells that can fight against a vampire, so it is more uncommon for a magical person to be attacked – the vampire is dead before they can. And then there is that each person’s magic is different from the other, so their vampirism can manifest in a large number of ways. There is also someone’s environment that can influence what traits they acquire.

“Therefore, it was fairly easy to subtly suggest to Lucius that you were one of these hybrid vampires. Some hybrids can look like they’re aging normally, after all, and keeping up this charade as long as possible would be most beneficial. Everyone knows you were raised in the forest, and you’ve made it fairly clear that it was by snakes – who’s to say you weren’t found by a nomadic vampire and changed as a young child? Because you were with snakes, and likely a Parselmouth by then if your learning it there is to be believed, then you would be likely to acquire snake venom rather than a vampire’s venom. Your status as the Boy-Who-Lived lends credence to this, as people assume that you must have great power and strong magic to defeat the Dark Lord”—he sneered just slightly at this—“and therefore it would be entirely plausible that your magic would accept the vampire venom in order to keep you alive.”

Severus was silent for several moments, letting the boy process his admittedly long speech.

Finally Potter looked up at him and said with great hesitation and disbelief, “You…you’re helping me?”

Severus glared. Of course after all of that, that was the only thing that would stick out in that foolish brain of his.

“Yes,” he said shortly, not liking to admit it and not wanting to dwell on it. “It would not be good for anyone were the Malfoys to discover your Animagus abilities, and should any trouble ever come your way because of hybrid vampire rumors, they can be easily disproven. But by having this excuse readily available should anyone else get suspicious, and as long as you appear to be trying to keep _this_ a secret, no one will suspect that you are covering another secret with it. But there need to appear to be some slips in the hybrid vampire theory, so that the rumor can be kept alive. And thus, why I now need to tell you. I would have told you this in a ‘detention’, but obviously you took exception to the idea. Now I suppose those detentions can be spent brainstorming for your ruse.”

“I’m not…” Potter hesitated, clearly afraid again, before he firmed his resolve and finished, “I’m not going back, though.”

Severus raised a single eyebrow, unsurprised with his words. “And why is that?” he asked in a bored voice, though he already knew the answer.

“No one needs me,” Harry said quietly, looking away. “And I don’t trust them.”

“’Them’?” Snape repeated. “I assume you mean the dog and the wolf?”

“ _Everyone_ ,” Harry whispered. “If they haven’t betrayed me yet, they will later. I know they will.”

“Really?” Severus said sarcastically. “So I suppose in addition to your other abilities, you have Seer blood as well? You can see the future with a surety now?” he clarified when it was clear Potter didn’t know what he meant by ‘Seer blood’.

“No,” Harry said, struggling to think of how to say what he had to say. “But I know they will. I trusted Sirius and Salim, but they didn’t try and get me out of danger, like they’re supposed to. They let Grímur put me in detention with someone they knew I saw as dangerous.” He glanced at Snape before looking away again. “I guess now I know that you’re not going to hurt me, but I still don’t trust you. And I didn’t know before, either.”

“And do you assume that Black and Lupin knew I was dangerous to you?” Severus said calmly. “Or perhaps they knew, as you did not, that I wasn’t going to harm you and thus, they didn’t see the need to be sure I stayed away from you?”

Harry now stared at him. “What?”

“Potter, one thing you seem to be having an enormous trouble realizing is that the life you know in the forest is very different from human life,” Severus began with a sigh. “There is, of course, the obvious – speech, wearing clothes, using silverware to eat food you haven’t hunted yourself. But there is also the less obvious that I don’t believe your guardians have ever clearly explained to you. People _think_ differently than animals. We don’t think in terms of who will hurt us and who we can hurt – we think more of who is friendly and who is not. These are, of course, very broad terms, but that is the main gist of it. Typically we don’t avoid someone because we’re afraid of being hurt by them – we avoid them because we don’t like them or they’re rude. There are exceptions, of course – there are always the people who want to hurt others weaker than themselves – but normal people typically just want to get through a happy life, and don’t worry about any slim chance of danger or have the desire to hurt other people.

“Black and Lupin fall somewhere in the middle of these two types of people,” Severus continued. “They are well aware of the fact that there is danger in the world – and people who will hurt others for their own gain – but they also use that normal part of them to assess the possibilities of danger in a person. Typically it’s easier in someone they know of course – and we have been acquaintances”—here he grimaced slightly—“for twenty years now. Although we have frequently been at odds with each other, they are well aware that I mean you no harm, and therefore saw no reason to intervene with your detention.”

“You hurt Arjun,” Harry protested. “And I’m a snake too – why _wouldn’t_ you hurt me?!”

Snape sighed, resisting the urge to rub his face tiredly. “Potter, this comes back to how people think. Firstly, you are _not_ a snake. You are a boy who can _turn_ _into_ a snake. It would be quite illegal for me to hurt you, and frankly too much hassle to deal with the fallout were I to try. Secondly, I don’t speak Parseltongue. How was I to know that the snake was in pain? There has never been any evidence of snakes experiencing true pain while their venom is extracted – only discomfort that they can easily get over. That snake could have been dancing, for all I knew. Thirdly, I wasn’t extracting venom with the intention of hurting a snake; I merely needed the venom for potions – potions that _help_ people. And as much as you don’t like to acknowledge it, humans and snakes are on very different levels of the food chain. Sometimes for humans to survive, lesser animals need to be hurt or even killed. Just as vampires are above humans, and drink human blood to survive, humans are above snakes, and sometimes humans need their venom or their fangs for potions that will keep _them_ alive. It is not a matter of one being better than the other – it’s merely life.”

Harry was scowling darkly at him, but he could say nothing to dispute his words. It was the same general idea that held true in the forest after all, so it was something he knew was true.

Severus finally allowed himself to sigh, and rose to his feet. “Think on my words, Potter,” he instructed, removing the Animagus suppression bracelet with a wave of his wand. “It is your choice whether or not you come back, but you should know that living in the Forbidden Forest can’t be a forever plan. Someone will eventually find you.”

He turned away and walked back in the direction of the castle, leaving the twelve-year-old staring after him.

…

It had been a hellish week. Not knowing where your godson was was one thing, but it made it worse when you knew on reflection that it was all your fault.

_“What is it that you’re even doing as my guardian? Aren’t you supposed to **guard** me, and **protect** me?”_

Sirius hung his head between his arms, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his fingers behind his neck. Those words had echoed in his head over a million times since the time Harry had run away, and they ate him up all the more with each repetition.

Remus was hurting just as much as Sirius – reasons not the least of which being Harry’s last distrustful comment – calling him “Wolf” as though he was nothing of more importance. As though he was just a werewolf – nothing he wanted anything to do with. It only ate at how much more badly he felt – that he had betrayed him enough that the boy he loved more than anything would want nothing more to do with him.

Neither had slept, showered, or eaten in the past week. Dark shadows rimmed their eyes, and their unshaven faces made for a roughened and prickly surface. It was a frightening parallel to their panic and worry and fear of eleven years previous, when Harry had disappeared the first time. This time felt worse though; they felt responsible for it, had seen the look in Harry’s eyes as he left the Hospital Wing – though perhaps that’s just because it was the most recent, and they were still in the midst of his absence.

Sirius’ head suddenly shot up when he heard the back door creak as it had done in the past three months whenever it opened. He hadn’t felt the wards alert him to an intruder, and outside of he and Remus in the house, only Harry was keyed in to them, which meant…

Harry’s head peeked around the door just before the rest of his body followed. He looked dirty from the outside and nervously tentative, as though he wasn’t sure whether or not he was welcomed inside.

Sirius shot to his feet, thinking of none of these things and only of the precious child in front of him. In a flash, he was over to Harry and hugging him tightly, pressing kisses repeatedly in his hair and over his face, uncaring for the dirt.

“Oh, Harry,” he murmured, choking on tears while Harry tentatively hugged him back. “My boy – my precious, precious child.” A pause, and then Harry was hugging him more surely, tightly, as though afraid to let him go.

A few moments later Sirius pulled away slightly to look into his face, holding it between his hands and thumbing Harry’s sorrowful tears away.

“Are you hurt?” he demanded, wanting with everything he had to make sure that his boy was alright and unharmed. “Anywhere – are you in pain?”

“No,” Harry admitted. “I’m okay.”

“Harry?”

Harry looked up to see Remus enter the room, while Sirius had eyes only for his godson. So Sirius was clearly able to see the guilt and pain that crossed his face when his eyes rested on his other guardian.

Harry pulled away from Sirius to run to Remus, throwing his arms around the man and hugging him for all he was worth.

“I’m sorry,” he cried, burying his face in Remus’ sweater, muffling his words. “I didn’t mean it – I know you’re safe, I do! I’m sorry!”

“Sh, Harry – it’s alright,” Remus assured him, hugging him back just as tightly while tears of relief trickled down his cheeks. “You’re alright – that’s all that matters.”

In a moment, all three of them were joined in a group hug, all thankful that they were back together once more.

…

Sirius and Remus were too relieved at Harry’s return to allow him to go back to Hogwarts that day – not that Harry was complaining. Seeing as it was Sunday anyway, they decided that it just wasn’t necessary for him to return quite yet. He would spend the night there, and could Floo back to Hogwarts in the morning.

Of course, Harry’s running away didn’t go ignored after he’d returned. In stern tones, Sirius and Remus had taken turns in telling him exactly why running away was not allowed, and exactly what that worry had done to them in the week he was gone. However, any sting their words may have caused was negated by the constant hugs he received every other moment from the both of them. They made Harry promise to talk to them before deciding to run away, should the urge ever come again, and Harry readily agreed. He was ashamed at how childlike his actions had been – following impulse rather than stopping to think like a snake was meant to do.

Remus had called through to Hogwarts to let Dumbledore know that Harry would be back the next morning for classes, and with a beaming smile, the old man promised to let Harry’s friends know so that they could stop worrying as well.

The rest of the evening was spent talking, as they should have done immediately after their supposed betrayal of Harry’s trust. Then Sirius asked the question – what had made him decide to return?

“Siyamak found me two nights ago,” Harry explained. “And he…well, the stuff he said made sense.”

“ _Snape_?” Sirius asked disbelievingly, while at the same time Remus questioned, “What did he say?”

Harry decided to answer Remus’ question – Sirius’ seemed rhetorical, anyway. Shrugging slightly, he said, “I don’t know – it was…he was telling me about how people think, and how it’s different than how I think. He made me realize that I’m thinking differently from you, and that’s why I thought you didn’t care that I was going into danger.

“Oh, and Siyamak is helping me,” Harry remembered before the other two could comment on his previous words. “He’s making Ulysses think I’m a vampire.”

“ _What_?” Sirius and Remus chorused in shocked voices.

“ _Why_?” Sirius demanded.

“A _vampire_?” Remus repeated.

“Well, not a real one,” Harry amended. “A hybrid one, since it can explain my aging and why I have snake venom even in human form.”

“You have snake venom even in human form?” Remus repeated in curiosity, the scholar in him finding this especially interesting. “How?”

“I think it’s just when I get really angry or scared,” Harry remembered. “After I bit Ulysses in Grímur’s office, his mate found snake venom in his neck, and I was the only one to bite him, so…” he trailed off with a shrug. “But Siyamak said he’s been implying ever since then that I’m a hybrid vampire, and tricking him into thinking it was his idea, so he won’t think I have an Animagus form. Then if anyone tries giving any trouble for it, I can easily disprove it. I just need to make accidents that make it look like I might reveal I’m a vampire.”

Sirius shook his head, squeezing the bridge of his nose between his thumb and two fingers. “Nothing is ever simple for you, is it?” he complained.

Harry smiled angelically at him. “I suppose this means I will need more Blood Pops.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was surprised at the people who wanted to stab Snape…I was sure that someone would pick up on his alliances sooner! So, now at least you know what’s going on in his head. ;)  
> Not sure when I’ll be getting the next chapter up – for once, I haven’t even started the next one. I have it planned in my head, but as soon as I sit down to type it I’m frozen with massive writer’s block. So it may be a little while before you see the next one – but at least this chapter didn’t end with a cliffhanger!  
> Thanks for reading!


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